From the White Sands
by Leon Myjia
Summary: Shinji has discovered that the world he desired isn't what he truly wants. Having been handed the absolute fate of the world from Rei-Lilith, he makes his decision as to what the world becomes. But is his decision fully in his control? Some mature content
1. And So The World Begins Again

Moo for Disclaimers: I do not own Evangelion and the characters contained therein, however, I do feel I have ownership of any and all new characters I introduce. Of course, none of that matters, because I have no intention of making any money off of this anyway o.O

I'm planning on coming back and reworking this chapter - for now, please plug through it to get to the more improved chapters after it.

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**Chapter 1**

**And So The World Begins Again**

"I feel sick…" The words left Asuka's lips quietly, painfully. Her neck felt like it had been crushed, and she could still feel the iron tight grip of the Third's hands, despite the fact that he was no longer choking her. She could feel the sand between the fingers of her free hand. _Sand? _She twisted her pained body to take in her surroundings. What had happened to this place? The ocean ran red, the sands were white, the sky black and dotted with stars, and…Asuka nearly screamed, the sound coming out as a bizarre, rough noise as her eye went wide with fear as it fell upon the head of Rei-Lilith. She painfully scurried away from Shinji, staring at him, her undamaged eye examining his frame for answers.

"What is all this?" She mustered the words from the depths of her throat, still sore, and motioned with her hand around them.

"What the hell did you do, Dummkopf?" Shinji remained where he was, silent. He wanted to avoid her rant. He wanted to avoid the inevitable explanation that would follow. He was dreading how he would tell her, but as he raised his eyes to explain, she scoffed and turned her head away.

"Fine…don't tell me. I'll figure out how you managed to screw things up this badly on my own." Shinji blinked a few tears away, for a moment, staring at Asuka. She eased off on pressuring him, but why? Asuka was never one to simply give up something she wanted without a fight. So why now? Was she just angry at him? Or maybe she truly wanted to do things on her own and not have to deal with him. He brought his hands up, rubbing his eyes for a moment, listening as Asuka started to speak again.

"I don't think you know anything about what's going on here, anyway. If I don't know, how could you possibly know?" Again, Asuka gave Shinji an answer to his unvoiced question. He watched her for several moments, pondering what it was this meant. He stood up from his knees and started towards her.

"Soryu-san…this place…it's what I've made of the world." Shinji muttered, not knowing where the resolve to speak came from. Asuka turned and faced him, alarm playing fully across her face.

"You did this!? Dummkopf! Arschloch!" Asuka stepped towards him and began to strike out at him. Shinji lifted his arms to shield his face, taking most of the blows with ease as Asuka was not in peak physical condition. He wanted her to stop, to let him be. To forgive him doing all of this…and deep down inside, he felt bitter and angry. He all but erased all of mankind except for the two of them, and she was striking him? _How dare she! _This inner Shinji cried. All at once, Asuka stopped striking him. The fist that was being brought down upon him opened into a hand, and was placed on top of his head, sliding down to his cheek and over his neck, stepping forward and draping her arms over his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

"Shinji-sama…" She began. Shinji stood in awe at the level of formality she was using with him. This was not the same Asuka that was just striking him.

"Gomen nasai…I don't have any right to blame you…you brought me back…even though I was cruel to you all the time." Shinji stood rigid, unable to comprehend what was happening, until her words fully processed in his mind. She was apologizing…for exactly the reasons he had wanted her to. First, avoiding explanation, then she gave her reasons for dropping the argument, a rare feat for Asuka. Something in Shinji's mind clicked together, but he was unsure if he was correct. Could he just be dreaming? He had to be sure…he had to conduct one final test. He would have to do something that he would never do…and think of something Asuka would never agree with. He looked up and stared Asuka straight into her eye, unnerving the currently apologetic girl.

"Asuka…" No formalities. This raised the girl's ire slightly, but in the mood she was in, she wasn't ready to voice her anger yet.

"I want you…" Shock, at first, which quickly turned into anger was clearly represented across the girls face. Shinji knew at once he had been wrong.

"Arschloch! Pervert! How dare you!?" She exclaimed, fuming, looking ready to strike the third. Shinji cringed and prepared for the blow, and opened his mouth ready to apologize when he was chastised by the fiery-haired girls lips crashed against his own in a steamy kiss. Her hands rose to the sides of his face as she leaned her whole body into his, causing both to tumble over with Asuka straddling Shinji, her body still pressed tightly to his, lips never breaking contact until Shinji forced her to break the kiss. He _was _wrong…wasn't he?

"Asuka! What are you doing?" She ran a hand through his hair and the other slid over his groin and gripped the growing bulge she found there, somewhat roughly. Shinji was only able to stave off the young girl's wandering hands briefly as she, swept up in passion, spoke only in her native language.

"Stoppen Sie zu sprechen und ficken. (Stop talking and fuck.)" She leaned towards him again and sought his lips, but his squirming led her to his neck, which she seemed to deem good enough. Shinji let out a light cry at Asuka's overwhelming attentions as she ran a tongue up his neck to his ear. He wasn't wrong. He was right…he has total control over this world and everyone in it. Rei-Lilith must have handed the fate of the world to Shinji in the most literal of senses. As…wrong as it felt, Shinji loved her attentions as she clawed his shirt away, and was trying to work his pants off. He wanted her, but not like this. "S-stop, Asuka…" He barely stammered out, watching as she continued to work at his pants, then suddenly stopped, looking up to him.

"Dummkopf…" she panted, her body still on a near orgasmic high of sexual energy. Why did she have to go and stop like that? Just when she was enjoying herself. Shinji pushed her away from him, so she sat down in front of him as he stood, looking around. He knew what he wanted. This world was perfect for him, but it wasn't perfect for Asuka _and_ himself. All of the others were gone as well…they deserved better than being pawns of NERV, but they didn't deserve to disappear from existence, he decided. Closing his eyes, he remained silent, Asuka simply watching him. The sloshing of the waves on the shore slowly died away, as did the sounds of his breathing, and Asuka's panting. Everything seemed to fade away from Shinji. Suddenly he felt the cool wind on his face, a wonderful comparison to the now hot sun shining down on him. Suddenly, however, he felt tired…he was exhausted, like he had just spent an entire day…well, living. Doing trivial things. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Asuka calling his name, and her elbow prodding him in the ribs. He opened his eyes quickly, and found himself standing outside of the school, other children passing Asuka and him by. Asuka had firm hold of his arm and was dragging him along.

"Shinji!" She shouted, as informal as ever as she gave his arm a sharp jerk.

"Come on, we're going to miss the bus. Baka!" Shinji just stared at her. No longer in her plug suit, she wore her usual school uniform. Both blue eyes danced in the sunlight, and her left arm was no longer covered in bandages. Shinji smiled at her insult, instead of cringing at harsh German tones, he was glad he made the change in her speech. No more German. Plenty of Japanese for him to actually understand. At Asuka's third or fourth growling of his name, Shinji nodded, sheepishly, hurrying along to follow her to avoid physical confrontation. Everyone else could live again…humanity was separated. He was happy for that. He decided, now that the Angels were gone, he could try to live a normal life. But control over every little thing in life wasn't normal…so as his last all-powerful act, he stripped himself of that power. He felt that the world he made now, was comfortable enough for him to accept as it was.

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**End of Chapter 1**

**And So The World Begins Again**

Moo for Author's Notes: Hurray! First chapter! Oh, if you readers could have seen the initial draft of this…atrocious! Of course, this isn't the best thing ever, but it's not my worst. Oh! Also, my heartfelt apologies to any who speak the German language. My abhorrent use of German (rather, my abhorrent use of the BabelFish translator ;; ) in this first chapter should show you exactly why I had Shinji change Asuka to speak Japanese most often now o.o I don't speak German. And the less of the German language I destroy, the better. Kind of a meh chapter, more to set up the subsequent chapters and why the world is back to normal after Third Impact o.O I figured offering a whole chapter to explain that rather than a paragraph like in the initial draft was more effective, wouldn't you agree?


	2. Back Home

_Moo for Disclaimers again: I do not own Evangelion and the characters contained therein._

_--_

"Baka! I swear you are so slow, Shinji." The red-headed female grumbled as she watched Shinji languidly walk towards the bus. Blue eyes trained on him every step of the way, Asuka tapped her foot impatiently. For some reason, the sound of her shoes slapping the sidewalk stood out to Shinji more than anything.

"Gomen Nasai, Soryu-san." Shinji offered his apology to the young woman, whom simply gave a slight 'humph' and turned her head away from him and started towards the bus.

"Just come on. You're lucky I even wait for you." Asuka let the biting comment fly, before stepping onto the bus, with Shinji close behind. 'I still wonder what made me leave Asuka so…cold' Shinji though, watching her as she walked.

"Hentai! Don't stare!" she called out, quickly sitting down in a seat and acting offended. Various others on the bus stared at Shinji with incredulous and questioning expressions, causing the young and now flustered boy to abruptly sit down as Asuka smiled triumphantly. _He's kind of cute when he's embarrassed like that. It just makes torturing him all that much more enjoyable_. Asuka's thoughts were interrupted by Shinji's voice.

"Soyru-san, what did you say that for?" Shinji asked in a hushed and embarrassed tone.

"Because you were staring, you idiot." She muttered, staring at him through narrowed eyes. "Don't you know not to stare at me like that? You're lucky I didn't hit you."

Shinji sighed, closing his eyes and sighing with mixed exasperation and relief that she wasn't going to harm him. _You can stare as much as you want later, pervert. It's not like I can stop you. And who knows, depending on how I feel… _Asuka kept her smile as the thought crept into her mind. _I might just let you get away with it, for a little while_. She sighed, reflecting, as Shinji did, on the period of time she had spent with him. At least, it was the time she was meant to believe she spent with him. She remembered the whole of her life, up until battle with the Eva series. The memories she had were of a victory. From there, everything returned to normal. NERV disbanded, the Evas were locked away…nothing bizarre…until Shinji informed her that these memories were fabricated. She asked him why she was made to forget the real events.

"_It's because you seem to me to be at least a little happier now than before I changed it, Soryu-san. Now, let's not speak of this event again…let's just start over." _Asuka sighed, back in reality. Nothing of that had actually happened, however…they never had that conversation…it was simply in her memories as if they had. She shook her head, wondering if she could trust anything in her memories. Something deep down inside her, though, told her that she could. She might not admit it, but she trusted Shinji as well. Not only that…but now that Wonder Girl wasn't around anymore, she only had Misato to deal with, and her being older than Shinji, not to mention Kaji's plaything, would make Shinji's attention fall on Asuka, and that was exactly what she'd wanted.

"Soryu-san." Shinji murmured her name. In truth, it was the third time he had. She seemed lost in a daze. Even her response to him wasn't committed

"Mmm?" She mumbled, not even looking at him. In fact, it wasn't even a conscious response. Shinji sighed and raised a hand to her shoulder, shaking her slightly.

"It's our stop…Katsuragi-sama is waiting for us." The mention of their superior and caretaker brought her around. Asuka looked over to Shinji then closed her eyes and gave him an annoyed sigh.

"Oh, fine, pervert, if you really want to see Misato-san that badly, I'll come along, if only to keep you from drooling all over yourself." Shinji felt the heat rising in his cheeks as it often did when home alone with the two women.

"Come on, that's not what I meant and you know it!" Shinji retorted as he stood and started towards the front of the bus, Asuka shrugged as she followed him. The pair stepped off the bus, Asuka stretching her legs and back, intentionally jutting her chest out before grumbling, noticing that Shinji wasn't looking in her general direction. 'Baka! Look at _me_!' Asuka repeated in her mind as she frowned and started past him, patting his shoulder with a light shove to get him moving.

"Let's go, Shinji. You said yourself we can't keep Misato-san waiting." Shinji stepped forward at the push, then hurried forward to catch up with Asuka, wondering why she was upset. Ignoring it for now, he followed slightly behind her until they reached their home. Shinji paused for a brief moment. He remembered bringing everyone back into this world. They were all given memories similar to Asuka's, with NERV disbanding after the foiled attempt to destroy it, and since NERV no longer existed, he had to create new lives for them. Fuyutsuki was a diplomat, and his ability to stay level-headed in intense situations was being put to excellent use. Akagi Ritsuko was still a doctor, however she no longer operated in Tokyo-3.

Then there was Misato. Shinji ultimately decided that Misato had been so kind to him that he wished her to remain with him and Asuka, so he kept her on as his permanent caregiver until she got sick of them or he finally wished to strike out on his own. But if there was one thing Asuka was right about, it was that he had no desire to leave the two women. There were only two people he did not return to this world. The first was Rei, and the reason was simply because he was unable to. Something kept him from bringing her back. The second was Ikari Gendou…Shinji had enough of his father the first time around. Before he had even realized it, the constant thinking had blinding him to the fact that Asuka was opening the door to his home right in front of him.

"Tadaima!" Asuka called, stepping into their apartment. Shinji, in a daze, said nothing, and so the older woman called out to Asuka alone.

"Okaeri nasai! Is Shinji-kun not with you?" The woman asked over the familiar crack and soft hissing sound of a beer can opening. It was then that Asuka realized Shinji hadn't said anything. Turning to him, she nudged him and whispered harshly. "Shinji! Announce yourself." Shinji blinked a few times then cleared his throat.

"He'll be along any minute now, he was right behind me. But you know how Shinji is, always so slow and daydreaming, probably about how lucky he is to live here with two beautiful women like us." This brought a mild laugh from Misato, who shook her head from her seat in the kitchen as she worked through a crossword.

"I don't think so. Our Shinji-kun has never been the most keen of-" she stopped mid-sentence as Shinji saw this as his only opportunity to announce his presence as well as avoid being teased.

"Tadaima!" He called out, huffing slightly. Misato held her tongue for a moment, glancing towards the kitchen door. 'Oops. Almost let that one slip.'

"Okaeri nasai!" She called out to him, smiling sheepishly to Asuka who had since walked into the kitchen. "How was school today, Shinji-kun?" The older woman asked, to which Shinji sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"The same as usual. Boring…" He sat down with the others at the kitchen table, looking at the same crossword Misato was working through. Asuka raised a brow at his choice for the object of his attention, then wrote it off as just another one of his quirks.

"Like the rest of us find it terribly interesting." Asuka stated, remembering suddenly that she had homework and dug out her textbook, brushing her hair behind her ear and tucking the pencil there as well as she searched.

"These damn kanji…" she muttered. Shinji smiled at that, remembering that while he had changed her common speech, he never did deal with her difficulty grasping the written form.

"You know, Asuka-chan, you could simply ask me for some help. It wouldn't hurt you, you know." Misato set her crossword down on the table close to Asuka's textbook, as if to further her point. Asuka scoffed, turning her head away defiantly.

"I don't need your help." She refused to look at the crossword, biting her pencil a moment, letting it rest on her bottom lip. This _did_ get Shinji's attention as he stared for a moment. Misato picked up on this, and instantly brought out her best flirtatious smile.

"Oh, I see. You'd rather have Shinji-kun help you, isn't that right?" It was Asuka's turn to share in the blushes, as both she and Shinji's gazes shot straight to Misato, and they spoke in unison.

"That's not what I meant!" Asuka exclaimed, while Shinji shouted a slightly varied "That's not what she meant!" Misato found great humor in this and laughed, shaking her head and waving the crossword, which was now back in her hand.

"I'm just teasing you both." She stated, sighing as she got her laughter under control. "Shinji-kun," she said in sultry tones so as to get his attention. "Why don't you be a good boy and cook us up something special?" Shinji blinked, his eyes somewhat hopeful as he heard her tone of voice, before he sighed at the request. He was prepaing to speak when Asuka got to it first.

"Yeah, I can't think on an empty stomach. Hayaku!" Shinji glanced to Asuka, slightly annoyed but his face masked it as guilt.

"Gomen nasai, Soryu-san. I'll have it ready shortly." He groaned, standing and walking to the kitchen. 'I'm so tortured…' he thought for a moment, shifting uncomfortably from the previous onslaught of both women's teasing as he prepared their food.

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Meow (HA, you thought I'd say moo) for Author's Notes: Slight knowledge of the Japanese language is my friend. As are various websites that give me the information I don't know (Okaeri Nasai for instance.). I'm debating on bringing Maya back into this place! I never knew she had such a large fan base o.o sure she's cute and all, but without Ritsuko to pine over, what does that leave her with other than taking Ritsuko's place in the new NERV that _somehow returns? _


	3. Fly Me To NERV

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion and the characters contained therein. I don't feel like being cute right now, I have a headache -- On with the show!

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"Hey, did you hear?" A young woman asked the man accompanying her on the streets of Tokyo-3

"Hear what?" The man queried as the young woman clung to his arm tight.

"I heard some of the girls talking the other day and they said they saw helicopters flying a robot to the old NERV building. It was one of those robots like the ones that used to fight the Angels!"

Back in the apartment of Katsuragi and company, Asuka lay on her bedroom floor, textbook wide open in front of her with the only light source being that of a small bendable lamp situated nearby. She shifted to adjust the long yellow shirt she usually wore at night so it was no longer riding up her body. Cursing the kanji she was forced to read, she looked up at her bedroom door, contemplating asking the older woman for help, confidentially of course.

"Hah! I don't need some drunken woman to learn this." she said in a fierce whisper. "Besides, she's probably passed out from all of the alcohol she drinks." She looked back down at her homework, the pencil dancing between her fingers as she twirled it. "What did Kaji see in that woman, besides her body?" True, Asuka's feelings for Shinji had been returning to her in almost full swing, but her desire for Kaji's attention had never faded. Kaji had managed to escape his fate at the hands off a would be assassin, and came for Misato shortly thereafter. Asuka had been home and heard Kaji say a heartfelt goodbye, feeling it no longer safe to remain in Tokyo-3, leaving Misato in tears and Asuka as well, knowing that Kaji would never return. She bit her lip to keep from crying at the memory, then put on her best scowl as she heard the third child's voice call to her from the other side of the door.

"Soryu-san? Are you awake?" He asked, quietly, trying not to wake her if she wasn't awake.

"Of course I'm awake, baka. I have no time to sleep, I need to finish this homework." Shinji slid open her door slightly, and Asuka immediately grabbed the slack of her shirt to cover her chest. "Hentai! I said I was awake, I didn't say I was dressed!" Shinji shut the door quickly and turned his back to it, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry Soryu-san, I didn't know!" Asuka sighed, shaking her head. 'Such a foolish boy.' she began in her mind. 'Had he actually looked, he would have seen that I'm not really naked.' She sat upright now and adjusted the long shirt so that her body was covered appropriately.

"You're hopeless Shinji. Get in here, what did you want?" She glared at the door and then back down at her work as it slid open, Shinji stepping into the room.

"I just wondered if you were awake. I can't sleep for some reason." Asuka raised a brow, and spoke without even breaking her attention on her homework.

"So you came here to see if I was asleep so you could sneak a peek at me while I'm sleeping? You really are a pervert." Shinji felt the blush creep along his cheeks and immediately got defensive.

"That's not true, So-" Asuka cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, baka! I can't concentrate on this with you talking." Shinji remained silent for a time, even after her hand was pulled from his mouth. He watched as she tried to read her homework and growled as she couldn't understand it. In anger, she slammed a fist down on the page and turned her head away. "Who needs to learn any of this, anyway?! I already graduated from a fine German college, why should I have to learn at these Japanese schools?" Shinji sighed and leaned over, reading the problem quietly. "And what do you think you're doing?" Asuka's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Shinji sat upright, still looking at the book.

"It's asking you to write the sentence with the underlined word formal and informal." Asuka looked to Shinji as though he had a second nose on his face, to which Shinji sighed. "Let me show you…the formal form is-" Asuka didn't let him finish.

"Baka! I know what the formal and informal form of the word is, but I can't write the kanji!" She snapped at him, her eyes glaring through the slight darkness and drilling into his mind. Shinji smiled for a moment, then reached for her the pencil in her hand, and wrote out the kanji on the page for her.

"It looks like that…you try it." Asuka, again stared at him indignantly, taking the pencil from his hand. She leaned down and began mimicking the kanji, albeit poorly. She grumbled when she saw her kanji looked nothing like what Shinji had written.

"To hell with this. I'll just take whatever score I get." Shinji watched her growl with frustration, before sighing and taking hold of the pencil, still in Asuka's hand, moving her hand and fingers slowly to help her write the kanji out. Asuka pulled her hand away, snapping at Shinji.

"How dare you touch me without my permission you idiot! Just what are you trying to do!" Her hand balled into a fist, but she didn't strike him. Shinji still cringed, however, expecting a strike. Asuka just felt pity for the boy, shaking her head and lowering her fist. "You're so pathetic, Shinji. I didn't even hit you and you flinched." Shinji opened his eyes and sighed, relieved he avoided yet another painful experience.

"Gomen nasai, Soryu-san…" Asuka huffed, then rolled over on her side, resting her head on her pillow with her back to Shinji. She was tired, having been working on homework all night.

"I'm tired, baka." She felt Shinji stand up and start to leave, looking over her shoulder to the retreating boy.

"O…Oyasumi nasai, Soryu-san." Asuka rolled over so she was propped up on her elbows, her knees drawn up causing her blue shorts to bunch up and frame her small rear. She glared slightly at him, before shifting her body to accent her figure.

"Where do you think you're going, Shinji? Get back here. I said I was tired." She lay back down on her bedroll, her back to him once again. "Or don't you want to keep me company for the night?" Shinji paused in the doorway, looking out towards his own bedroom. He pondered for the moment if she had some ulterior motive in mind, before sliding her door shut and laying on the bedroll, his back close to hers. Asuka gritted her teeth and mentally cursed the boy. 'You're a damned fool, Shinji…do I have to do everything for you?' At that, she rolled over and wrapped her arms around his waist, cuddling close to him, pressing her breasts into his back.

"Baka…" she murmured, sleepily into his neck as she closed her eyes. Shinji tensed, suddenly realizing he was without his SDAT to guide him to sleep. He could only concentrate on the soft breasts pressing into his back…no, that wasn't right. His heartbeat…yes, he would just think about his steady heartbeat to fall asleep. But his heart was pounding. There had to be something…he could feel himself begin to harden, and he shifted so as to hide it from Asuka's hands, wrapped so closely around his waist. Asuka, on the border of sleep and consciousness, decided to play one final trick on the boy. Mustering her best sexy voice, she moaned as she spoke into his neck and thrust her hands down his pants, sliding over his thighs.

"Oh, Kaji, not there…" Shinji's form shrunk, and he was unable to resist the desire to curl up slightly with her hands so close to his now rock hard member. Asuka's once deftly moving hands now slackened as she fell fully asleep, and Shinji saw his opportunity. He tried as best he could to move her hands out of his pants, but in her sleep, one hand deftly wrapped around him.

"Mm…Shinji…not you too…" Shinji let out a meek cry, his entire body twitching as a shiver shot through him. _Just what the hell is she dreaming about, anyway?! _Finding himself with no other option, he unbuttoned his jeans and forced her hands off of him, panting slightly, both with relief, and from the young girls attentions. He heard the heater of Misato's apartment steadily grow louder and concentrated on it, using the constant sound to aid him to sleep, only able to get in a mild thought before succumbing to sleep. 'Katsuragi-sama doesn't have a heater…'

Misato sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes as she found herself waking to an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like a heater, or maybe a refrigerator running. Standing up, she stretched her back and fixed her shirt, which had run up over her chest during her tossing and turning.

"Am I glad Shinji-kun didn't see this…" She murmured, then turned her attention to the balcony outside of her room. The sound seemed to be coming from the distance outside, so she walked out onto her balcony and stared out into the city. Leaning forward onto the railing, she stared out, narrowing her eyes to make out what appeared to be a helicopter in the distance, carrying something on a winch beneath it. 'That looks…familiar, why?' The thought ran through her mind, and her body was hit with a sudden shock, her limbs feeling paralyzed.

"Eva!" she called out, gripping the iron railing tight. "It can't be…NERV was disbanded…Comma-" She paused. No need to be formal with that bastard anymore. "Gendou is missing…so what could this mean? Have the Angels returned?" Misato found herself unable to get to sleep for the rest of the night, the thought of returning to NERV plaguing her thoughts.

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Author's Notes - Eh, I've gotta come back and rework this chapter at some point.


	4. Return to the Place Our Youth was Lost

_Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion nor do I own the characters contained within, except for Satoru. He's mine….moo._

_--_

"Damn it! We're going to be late!" Asuka cried, dashing back and forth between her room, the bathroom, the kitchen, and various other rooms to collect what she needed for school. "And that idiot Shinji is still sleeping!" Misato watched Asuka, who was taking more liberties than Misato thought she realized. The young girl was dashing about the apartment in her bra and panties, shirt hanging loosely at her shoulders, not pulled down to cover her chest just yet, and the poor thing was nearly tripping over everything she was dropping. Misato smiled slightly, then looked towards the window.

"I'm sure you'll make it in time. You can always just leave Shinji-kun behind." Asuka paused for a moment to make sure she was fully dressed while letting the option of leaving the young boy behind and heading to school alone.

"But then who would I have to torture and make fun of all day?" The red-head grinned, staring at her bedroom door, behind which Shinji lay sleeping still. 'I could always make fun of everyone else, that's simple too, but Shinji's just much more fun to tease'. Asuka set her suitcase down and sauntered to her bedroom door, sliding it open. Shinji still lay slightly curled up on her bed. Drawing in a deep breath, Asuka shouted as loud as she could, the resulting noise causing Misato to do a spit-take with her beer.

"Shinji, you stupid idiot! Wake up and get dressed already!" Asuka stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a triumphant smile on her face, but the smile quickly turned into a scowl with the Third Child merely rolled over in his sleep. Misato glanced off in the direction of the bedrooms, though unable to see them from where she was. It took a few moments, but she heard a loud thud, and a resulting shout from the young boy.

"Ow! S-Souryu-san, what did you do that for!?" Shinji rubbed the now sore spot in the side of his ribs, drawing in breath through his clenched teeth.

"Because you wouldn't wake up, baka!" Asuka griped, crossing his arms as she watched the young boy sit up. "Besides, we're late for school!" Shinji sat up instantly, looking around for his alarm clock and then realized he wasn't in his own room.

"What time is it, Souryu-san?" Asuka had since stormed out of the room and was continuing to prepare for her walk, soon to be run, to school. Shinji sighed and stood up, rubbing his ribs still as he slowly made his way out of her room and shielded his eyes from the bright light of the rest of the apartment, a sharp contrast to the nearly pitch black bedroom he had come from. He looked around for a moment, trying to find Asuka. The young red head passed him, a breakfast muffin hanging from her mouth. She mumbled something through it, tossing his suitcase at him as she passed. Shinji narrowly caught the case, keeping the object from colliding with his face. He looked over to Misato for a moment, then sighed.

"Katsuragi-sama, what time is it?" Misato was busy staring out of a nearby window, looking off in the same direction she was last night. Where she _thought_ she saw a helicopter carrying an Eva. But it couldn't have been Eva. Units 01 and 02 were on permanent lockdown in Fukuoka, and Unit 00 was destroyed long ago. Then why was she so sure she saw an Eva being carried?

"Katsuragi-sama?" Shinji's repeated question snapped her out of her daze, and she smiled and shook her Yebisu can while she waved a finger at the young boy.

"It's late enough, Shinji-kun. Get ready, or Asuka-chan will have your hide." Shinji sighed, and turned to go to his room and get ready. Asuka, having finished preparing, sighed and sat down at the table, reaching her hand up to take the muffin from her mouth.

"Ahh…it's been a while since I've had time to sit down and enjoy a real breakfast. Instead I have to eat this." She tossed the muffin on the table and placed her head in her hands, with her elbows propped up on the table. "I wish just once I could have some scrambled eggs." Misato smiled at the young girl's lament, laughing slightly.

"Why don't you just ask Shinji-kun to make breakfast for dinner?" Asuka seemed confused by her statement, and the older woman continued her explanation. "Breakfast for dinner. Instead of having a normal dinner, like we usually do, he'll make breakfast. Just ask him to make a western style breakfast for you okay?" Asuka rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"That sounds stupid. Who eats breakfast for dinner, anyway?" She stood up and picked up her suitcase, walking away from a smiling Misato. Shinji exited from his bedroom and looked to Asuka. "Shinji, are you ready yet? Let's go!" Shinji nodded and followed Asuka out of the door. Asuka gave a brief wave to Misato, and Shinji bowed slightly.

"Ittekimasu." Shinji offered, before Asuka grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the apartment. Misato only smiled, but still offered a response.

"Have a nice day." At that, Misato sighed and took a drink of her Yebisu, looking back out of the window. It _was_ an Eva, wasn't it? But why were they bringing it back to Tokyo-3? Was Fukuoka unable to store the Eva there? PenPen let out a sudden warking noise in surprise as the phone began to ring. Misato yawned and wandered to the phone. Who could be calling at this early hour? She picked up the phone and held it to her ear, leaning on the wall tiredly. "Hello?" The voice on the other end spoke calmly to her.

"Yoichi Satoru. Is this Katsuragi Misato, former Lieutenant for NERV?" Misato tensed slightly, and there was a brief pause before she responded.

"H-Hai…what business do you have with me?" Fear welled up within her chest. This had to have something to do with the Eva.

"I have called because I happen to have a job offer for you. I hear you've been having some work troubles, finding yourself a new job. Not so easy when you don't have a government paycheck, is it?" Misato gritted her teeth, letting anger get the best of her.

"Excuse me?! Who the hell are you to go prying into my life! You can take your job and-" Misato was cut off by the man's calm rebuttal.

"We would like to hire you on as our new planning manager. It seems that the Children's job isn't quite finished yet. Well? Are you interested? Or would you like to meet in person?" When Misato gave a long pause with no response, Satoru continued. "I…could send a familiar face to pick you up, or meet you myself." Misato sighed, closing her eyes. Could she really get out of this? She was out of work and providing for the children was growing difficult.

"I…I'll need to discuss this. This doesn't mean I trust you!" A chuckle came from the other end.

"I'll send a friend of yours for you. I'm sure you'll be more receptive after." The line cut out and Misato hung up the phone, leaving hand on the receiver. More Angels? Does this mean that Commander Ikari had returned? But without Angels…Shinji and Asuka had made progress emotionally. But to return to that pressure?

"A bad idea…" She told herself aloud, turning to face the sleeping PenPen nearby.

"What? You mean that you're thinking about enrolling in high school?" Shinji nodded, watching the reaction Kensuke gave him. Toji, grumbling while fiddling with his prosthetic leg, looked over to his friends.

"Well think about it. Without the Angel's attacking all the time, Ikari-kun can do what he wants now." Shinji nodded, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. It was true. Without the angels constant attacks, he was able to focus on his school work and his grades have improved dramatically as a result. He was considering advancing through and starting High School, then briefly considered how Asuka would react to that decision. He looked over at Touji then, who was still fiddling with his leg. The memory of the event that cost Touji his leg was still in his memory, but over time, Toji had forgiven him, especially when the young man learned that it was the Dummy Plug that was in control, and not Shinji. Shinji was interrupted from his thoughts as he was spoken to.

"Ikari-kun! You're going to leave us here alone? But we're a team!" Kensuke called, to which Toji struck him lightly.

"Baka! If Ikari-kun leaves, that means Misato-san will be all alone, just for us!" Both boys grew gleeful with excitement at that thought, and Shinji simply rolled his eyes to the side and ignored them. He spent the day like any normal student would, which for Shinji was a relatively new experience. He never had the chance to be bored with class, to look forward to the end of the day and enjoy the lunch break like any other boy his age. For once he felt normal, and accepted. And he enjoyed that.

As lunch break did finally arrive, Asuka sought out the young boy, sitting down with him to eat her lunch. Upon taking a single bite of her lunch, however, she groaned, and looked to Shinji.

"Ahh! Shinji, this is a poor sandwich. There's hardly any meat in here…" Shinji glanced over to her for a moment, then sighed and apology.

"Gomen nasai, Souryu-san." Asuka narrowed her eyes as she looked at Shinji, then flicked him in the forehead.

"Baka. Don't be so quick to apologize." Asuka set her sandwich down and took a bite of the rice balls that were included in her lunch. "The rice balls are good." Shinji smiled at that and nodded, taking a bite of his own sandwich. "But rice balls every day? Make me something different tomorrow, Shinji." Shinji swallowed and nodded his agreement.

"Hai, Souryu-san." Asuka grumbled and looked over to Shinji, pushing his shoulder slightly.

"Say more than one word, baka! You make it so difficult to have a conversation with you!" Shinji looked to Asuka, surprised she was complaining about such a thing.

"H-Hai. I…I'm thinking of enrolling in High School this year." Shinji began, and Asuka nearly choked in surprise.

"What? You, in High School?! Hah!" She turned her nose up at him for a moment, laughing slightly. "How could _you _be smart enough for High School?" Shinji seemed embittered at this remark, and faced her now.

"Why don't you enroll in High School too, then?" He countered, gritting his teeth somewhat, though as usual his face wore the mask of submission. Asuka took this as a challenge and sat upright, moving her face close to his as she growled out her response.

"Fine then, I will! And I guarantee I'll get a higher score than you on the exam!" She pushed his shoulder as she usually did before she huffed and sat down beside him again, taking a rather large bite out of her rice ball and looking off, opposite of Shinji. Shinji himself stared cast his gaze downwards, as he usually did after an argument with Asuka. All was silent for a time as the only sound was that of cicadas nearby. Finally, Asuka broke the silence.

"Shinji-kun? Make me a western breakfast for dinner tonight." Shinji looked up to Asuka, who hadn't turned back to face him.

"…Hai, Souryu-san."

"Yo." The young man waved to Misato as she opened the door, resulting in her pointing in surprise at him, taking a step back.

"Y-you! What are you doing here!?" Misato took a few more steps back as Kaji walked into her apartment, nonchalantly.

"I believe my superior phoned ahead. He told you he'd be sending a familiar face, didn't he?" Misato's shock switched to alertness. Had she heard him right? Kaji's superior was Satoru?

"You mean that Satoru? Don't tell me you work for him." Kaji smiled as he found a seat in her kitchen, crossing his legs and letting his arms rest over the back of the chair.

"Hai, Misato-san. You_ do_ know why I'm here, then?" Misato nodded, taking a seat across from him. "It seems that SEELE wasn't as thoroughly eradicated as we originally though. It seems that some remnants of the organization have gathered up all the data they had and are planning to create more Evas to institute Instrumentality." Misato sighed, rubbing her head.

"No originality. They're up to the same tricks then? And you need the Children to pilot Eva and combat the threat, right?" Kaji chuckled and pointed to Misato.

"You catch on fast, Misato-san, I should have expected nothing less from you. But naturally, we want you as the head Planning Manager, just like you were for old NERV." Misato listened to his form of speech for a moment, before leaning on the table, casting a wary glance over him.

"You keep saying 'we' this and 'we' that. Does that mean you're no longer a double agent for SEELE and NERV?" Kaji shrugged his shoulders.

"You could say that. I _am_ the Sub-Commander of New NERV." Misato's jaw nearly hit the floor, figuratively speaking. She stammered before finally being able to form a complete sentence.

"Sub-Commander! You? There's no way I want anything to do with this now." She said, turning her head away, then let her stubborn nature fall away for a moment, looking at Kaji sincerely. "So…you really do need me on as Planning Manager, don't you?" Kaji nodded, sitting in his chair correctly now.

"Yes. And you can relax: Satoru is not like Commander Ikari. He has no desire to bring about another Third Impact. Like you, he simply wants to bring about a sense of peace for Tokyo-3." Misato stared at the ceiling for a moment, letting hundreds of thoughts run free in her mind.

"Well…I guess I have no choice. You have my support, but you obviously have to know that the children won't be as receptive to this offer as I am." Kaji stood upright and smiled down to Misato.

"I'll leave that in your capable hands, Katsuragi-chan." Misato looked at Kaji for a moment, and shifted forward slightly.

"You're leaving already?" Kaji, who had since turned around and started for the door, stopped and looked at her.

"I am. I have important things to do as Sub-Commander. But don't you worry-" Kaji gave her a brief wink. "-we'll have plenty of time to catch up later." At that, Kaji left the apartment, with Misato smiling slightly in the kitchen.

"She's joining, then?" The voice of the young man spoke from across his desk to Kaji, who stood before him.

"Hai, Yoichi-sama. I'm sure she will convince the children to as well." Kaji watched as Yoichi Satoru slid a file across the desk to Kaji. "What's this?"

"That is the file on Rokuro Yuu and Unit-0X. See that it is delivered to Miss Katsuragi personally. Let her know that if Ikari and Soryu do no wish to pilot Eva, we still have two Children on reserve to take their place." Kaji picked up the file, then looked at Satoru quizzically. "Two?"

"Yes. Rokuro Yuu, the Sixth Child, and…"

"Tadaima!" The two children said in unison as they arrived home. Misato waved a hand from inside the apartment to respond.

"Okaeri nasai!" She called, then glanced up from her paperwork to the entering duo. "How was school today?"

"Boring, as usual." Asuka groaned, then noticed the papers Misato had with her. However, Shinji was first to voice about them.

"What's that, Katsuragi-sama?" He asked, to which Misato pulled the paperwork close to her quickly.

"Oh, it's…nothing. Just a job application. I figured that if I want to keep supporting you kids, I have to get serious and start living like a guardian." At that, both Asuka and Shinji stared at Misato as though she were on fire. Misato narrowed her eyes, speaking in low tones. "Is that so surprising to you two?" Shinji, always the meek one, waved his hands defensively.

"No no! It's just that…if you were having trouble with money, you could have said something. We'd be happy to work to help, right Soryu-san?" Asuka turned her head away from Shinji and crossed her arms, defiant.

"I think it's about time Misato-san started taking action. If you want to work, Shinji, that's fine, but I doubt you'll find a job so young." Misato looked to Asuka, somewhat indignantly as she spoke.

"Things are different here in Japan, Asuka-chan. I'm sure Shinji-kun could find a fine job if he wanted." Shinji couldn't help as a warmth crept to his cheeks at the compliment, turning his back to the pair as he started to cook dinner for everyone. Asuka, having decided to cut off the argument with Misato that she was so clearly losing, sat down at the table and began working on homework, determined not to be beat out by Shinji at enrolling in High School. Misato watched the pair, quietly, her hands trembling ever so slightly over the papers beneath them. It would be some time before she would make mention of the task she had been given. Shinji had turned and was ready to set dinner down on the table by the time she spoke.

"Listen, you two…" She began. "I got a phone call today…" She slowly began to explain everything to the children, who could only nod their heads in shock. Shinji stood utterly still as Misato finished. How? How could this all be true? He thought he'd rid this place of SEELE and NERV, everything. Asuka was preparing to begin a tirade of anger and resentment at the request Misato had relayed to them, but Shinji did the only thing he could think of to do for a moment. Ignore everything. He set the plate down before Asuka, looking to her as she stared at him, a mix of anger and curiosity at his actions playing on her face.

"A western style breakfast…Souryu-san…" Asuka stared at him for a moment, her anger receding. The look the two shared for the longest time seemed to be an argument of body language, before the two sat down and turned to their dinner, eating silently. Misato said nothing, watching as the two took the time to come to their respective decisions.

--

Author's Notes: Ahh…the longest chapter I've ever written. And I feel like it was…I dunno, rushed. I guess the only thing I have to rely on is reviews from the folks who have read it already. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless…bai-bai.


	5. Coming Together

_Disclaimer: Oi. I don't own Evangelion. Satoru and Yuu are mine, though. Mine I say! I'll only say that once! waves pointy stick Eh?_

_--_

"Asuka-chan. Shinji-kun. I want you two to go to school like normal today, okay? Once you're done with school, come straight here and I'll drive you to NERV HQ." Misato stood before the Second and Third child, both prepared for school much earlier than normal. The decision to return to NERV weighed on their shoulders, despite the fact that Misato was attempting to keep it from being a burden. "Please…I understand that this is a difficult choice for you both to make, but you both made it. You can both be happy knowing you aren't forced to do this." Asuka shrugged her shoulders, turning away from Misato as she started out the door.

"Hah! As if anyone but us could Pilot the Eva well enough to fend off an attack." Shinji watched Asuka for a moment, turning to follow, but he paused long enough to face Misato and bow slightly.

"Ittekimasu, Katsuragi-sama." He managed to murmur to her, before turning and running after his protégé to catch up. Misato watched the pair go, then looked down to the file still in her hand. She opted not to tell the other children yet of the Sixth Child, Rokuro Yuu. 'Is there really another child after all of this? And to think Satoru had another Eva built…it's inconceivable! How..?'Even more stupefying was the second file she held in her hand.

"Ayanami Rei…First Child. Pilot of Unit 00, prototype Evangelion." She read the file to herself quietly, staring at the kanji on the page. The word 'deceased' was crossed out in red pen, the word 'critical' written in it's place. Another Eva…another Rei. Did Satoru possess the remains of Lilith?

"Bow and be seated." Hikari called out, the class bowing before their teacher and taking their seats. Shinji cast a glance over to Asuka, who was busy staring out of the window and daydreaming. She was probably thinking the same thoughts as he. Thinking about what it was going to be like to be in the pilot seat of Eva again. His attention was drawn forward to the front of the classroom as an unfamiliar figure walked into the room with their teacher.

"Class, we have a new student today. Please introduce yourself." Before them stood a young man, appearing to be at least fifteen. His hair was black as night, and fell about his face in an almost messy manner. The strands in the front were down to his chin, parted at his forehead so he could see, crimson eyes gazing out from under the shadow of his hair. His skin was slightly pale, giving him an almost sickly look at first glance. The most peculiar feature of the boy, however, were that the skin tones of his face were different from that of his arms. He took hold of the chalk and turned to the chalkboard to write out his name.

"My name is Rokuro Yuu." He turned to face the class room now. "I'm from Fukuoka…I'll be living here in Tokyo-3 from now on." Shinji stared at the boy's eyes for a time, before glancing over to see if Asuka had notice the boy. As he suspected, she was still staring out of the window, off in her own world. Once again turning his attention to Yuu, Shinji noticed the older boy's gaze was locked on him. Shinji felt his breath catch in his throat as the crimson orbs seemed to peer into his soul. Suddenly, Yuu smiled and closed his eyes, breaking Shinji's focus on him. The teacher then turned to Yuu and motioned with his hand towards the classroom.

"Go ahead and take your seat, behind Aida-kun and Suzuhara-kun." Yuu looked to the teacher for a moment, then to the classroom, puzzled.

"Aida-kun? Suzuhara-kun?" At that, Kensuke and Touji both raised their hands, Kensuke being the one to speak.

"Here. Over here, Rokuro-san." Yuu bowed slightly to Kensuke, still smiling as he walked to his seat. He stopped beside his seat for a moment, seemingly distracted by something. He paused for a moment to look towards the teacher's desk, his eyes falling on a potted plant kept there.

"Masahiko-sensei…your lily is dying." The teacher glanced at Yuu, then to the small plant kept on his desk. To his surprise, the lily had indeed barely began wilting. Adjusting his glasses, the teacher turned his attention back to Yuu.

"Be seated, Rokuro-kun." The teacher coughed out the words, turning to the board to begin the lesson without addressing the young boy's statement. Yuu's eyes narrowed slightly at the teacher's back as he took his seat. _Hmph…__It's so upsetting_. Sighing slightly, Yuu retrieved the textbook the teacher specified, then paused for a moment, still partially leaning to his side with his hand in his suitcase as Shinji looked to him again. Yuu held a puzzled look for a moment, before Shinji realized he was staring and turned forward. Shinji couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen those same crimson eyes before. Unable to keep the train of thought going as the teacher began the lecture, he propped his elbow on the desk and let his head rest in his hand.

"Stand and bow." Hikari called out, standing and bowing. She stood upright and growled in Touji's direction when the boy didn't bow. "Suzuhara-kun! Bow!" Touji grumbled and bowed his head slightly, turning to Kensuke and Shinji.

"What is it with girls and being pushy." Kensuke laughed slightly at that, and even Shinji joined in on the brief laughter, earning him a forceful shove on his shoulder from Asuka.

"And just what part of that was funny, Shinji?" Asuka grumbled, crossing her arms as she waited for a response. Shinji sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, trying to come up with an excuse when he was saved by a soft voice.

"Aida-kun. Suzuhara-kun." Yuu murmured as he approached, looking to Kensuke and Touji as he approached. "Arigatou. For telling me where to sit, I mean." Kensuke smiled, placing his hands on the desk behind him, leaning back on it.

"Call me Kensuke, and it was no problem. Don't worry, we all know how rough it is to start in a new school." Yuu nodded slightly as he listened, then glanced to Touji as the other boy began so speak, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, you have to adjust to a new town, you don't know anyone around-" Asuka interrupted him, raising a brow and tapping her foot impatiently as she was ignored.

"Hold on a second, who are you?" She asked, nodding to Yuu. Shinji looked to Asuka puzzled.

"Souryu-san, don't you remember? This is Rokuro-kun, he's a new student." Asuka stared at him for a moment, then put on her best smug smile and slightly turned her head away from him.

"Is that so? Well, you should feel lucky I'm talking to you. I'm-" It was Yuu's turn to interrupt, much to Asuka's ire as the young boy pointed to her.

"Souryu Asuka Langley. Which must mean you…" He pointed to Shinji now, who stiffened slightly. "…are Ikari Shinji." He slipped his hand back into his pocket as Asuka fumed and Shinji spoke.

"How do you know our names?" Yuu's smile faded as Shinji's words reached his ears, and his shoulders slumped slightly, though not enough for anyone to notice.

"You mean you don't know who I am?" Yuu asked, raising a brow for a moment, then returned his expression to neutrality. _'Does that mean they refused to return to NERV? If so, I'm not required to divulge any information to them.'_ His thoughts ran through his mind as he watched Shinji shake his head. _Better play it safe._

"Of course we don't, moron. Why would he ask if he knew?" Asuka snapped, and Yuu sighed, shaking his head.

"It's not important. Never mind it." He turned to his desk and began to gather his belongings, as Asuka rolled her eyes and tugged on Shinji's arm.

"Shinji, let's go. We have to meet Misato, remember?" Shinji stumbled along with Asuka, looking back to the classroom. "Hurry!"

"But, Souryu-san, we have cleaning duty today." Asuka stopped, turning to face him, waving a finger as she spoke.

"Make these idiots do it, then! Don't you remember what Misato said? We are to meet her as soon as school gets out, no exceptions. Now be a good little boy and hurry up!" She turned and stormed off without him now, and Shinji placed his hand on his forehead, sighing as Kensuke grumbled and Touji shouted.

"Idiots? Why that little bitch…" Touji grumbled. Yuu simply watched the event unfold, his eyes following Shinji as he left shortly after. _So they didn't refuse? _Standing, he walked out of the room slowly, leaving Kensuke and Touji standing in awe that he would just abandon them.

"Not Rokuro-kun, too…" Kensuke griped, sighing. He grabbed a nearby broom and began sweeping for a moment, before he looked up surprised to see Yuu had returned, with a small cup of water. Much to both Kensuke and Touji's shock, he walked straight to their teacher's desk and lifted the potted lily, setting it by a nearby window and bending so he was eye level with the plant. Slowly he tilted the cup, pouring water into the pot as he smiled.

"There, is that better?" Yuu lifted the flower slightly, leaning it towards the window so it was exposed to the sun. "Kensuke-kun. Suzuhara-kun." He spoke to the pair, without taking his eyes off of the plant. "Can I leave the cleaning duty to you two? I also have an appointment with Katsuragi-sama." Both boys stared at Yuu with jealousy, but sighed and nodded, as Kensuke spoke.

"Yeah, alright, but you owe us, Rokuro-kun, you lucky dog." Yuu nodded as he stood upright, walking to his desk and retrieving his suitcase.

"Arigatou, Kensuke-kun, Suzuhara-kun." He bowed slightly to the pair and turned on his heel to leave. As he left the school grounds, he sighed, closing his eyes as he walked. "Suzuhara Touji…He turned down Sempai's offer. I don't suppose I could blame him for it, after what happened, but…" He paused for a moment and looked back up at the window where their classroom was. "…I didn't see any suffering in his eyes, like I saw in the other…" He turned his back to the school and left his gaze on the sky.

"Souryu…Asuka…Langley. You chose to pilot the Eva, but you still suffer. Is the Eva the cause?" He faced forward and started walking again, his mind processing a myriad of thoughts, locking himself in an inner debate with himself. _'According the data Sempai has, Souryu once stated that piloting the Eva was all she lived for. Why, then, do I see suffering in her eyes?' _Yuu squinted in the sunlight as he stepped out from under the shade of the trees he had been passing under, shifting as a stiff breeze blew through the area. He paused for a moment to glance around him, watching the leaves rustle in the wind and unable to stop himself from taking a deep breath.

"Ahh. It's a nice day." He turned and started down the street once more, his mental debate beginning anew. _'And then…Ikari Shinji'._ His thought trailed off, letting the boy's name hang in his mind for a moment. '_Ikari Shinji…our first meeting, and already I feel as though I know you. Is this…because of him?' _He raised is hand up to his chest, looking down at it for a moment. "I am Rokuro Yuu. All else is nonsense." He muttered, almost indignantly, to himself. "No more thinking for now." He shifted the suitcase he carried over his shoulder, continuing his walk in silence.

"Kaji!" The young, red head squealed at the sight of her former guardian and object of desire. She clung to his waist and hugged him tight, fighting off tears at finally being able to see him again. The Sub-Commander had an errand to run in town, so he decided to stop be Misato's apartment to visit, and happened to be there when the children got home. Asuka had immediately run to him, clinging to him like a child reunited with it's parents. Shinji stood nearby and stared at Kaji for a moment, before cracking a slight smile.

"Kaji-sama…it's good to see you again." Kaji simply smiled and waved, too busy trying to keep his balance to talk. Misato moved to stand beside Shinji, watching Asuka and Kaji.

"Kaji-kun had to come into town on official NERV business. It's funny…" Misato's expression shifted to a teasing smile. "They have Sub-Commander Kaji, the second in command at NERV, running errands." Kaji glanced to Misato, finally able to keep Asuka at a safe distance from him.

"Well, with nothing attacking us at the moment, I have to have some work. I was just on my way to pick something up. Which reminds me, I should probably get going, or Yoichi-sama will be upset that I took so long."

"Yoichi? The new commander, right?" Asuka queried, looking over to Kaji. He gave a nod and a small wave, starting towards the door. Asuka pouted, and prepared to speak, but Misato spoke before she had the chance, resulting in a slight glare from the young red-head.

"Ah, then we'll see you shortly at the briefing?" Misato shifted her weight onto one foot, placing a hand on her hip. Kaji paused in the doorway, but Shinji caught the word 'briefing' and raised a question.

"Briefing? You mean we'll be going into combat already?" Asuka narrowed her eyes at Shinji slightly.

"What's the matter, Shinji? Are you scared?" Shinji gave a slight 'humph' sound as Kaji answered his earlier question.

"No, it's nothing like that. We have to run harmonics tests to see if you kids still synch up with the Evangelion like you used to. It's been a while, so we want to be sure." Misato raised a brow, folding her arms over her waist now.

"Harmonics? But, who will be performing the tests?" Kaji sighed, scratching his neck. _'So much for getting out of here on time_.' As the thought milled in his mind, he simply glanced at Misato.

"Maya Ibuki. Now I really have to get going." At that, he turned and left without another word. While the children seemed surprised at the revelation of the newly re-instated and now _Dr._ Ibuki, Misato was more concerned with Kaji's sudden departure. _'It's not like him to pass up a chance to be around me, tormenting at every turn._' She kept her gaze on the door for a long moment, before looking to the children.

"Right! Let's get going, okay? We don't want to be late, do we?"

Yoichi Satoru sat behind the desk in central NERV headquarters, hands folded in his lap. He simply stared at the desk before him, looking over the dark finish, before his eyes scanned over the papers nearby. He brushed dark hair out of his eyes and sighed, reaching his hand up to push the sunglasses he constantly wore, even in the dark, up on his nose. A slight smile rose to his lips as he held his gaze where it was.

"Well…it seems I have a lot of catching up to do if I'm going to live up to my predecessor. But with the vital ingredient missing as it is…" His attention was brought to the shadowed figure standing before him, and his smile faded into a calm expression.

"Ah. Rei-chan. I take it you've recovered completely then." Satoru looked over the young girl for a moment, while she remained silent. He chuckled for a moment, leaning back in his seat.

"Nothing to say?" He stated, rhetorically. Shaking his head, he let his hands rest on the armrests of his chair. "That's alright. I'm sure you're confused. You don't know why you're here, am I right?" The silent girl simply nodded, staring at him with an expression devoid of emotion.

"Don't put too much thought into it. You're here, and that's all there is to it. Just enjoy it, like I do." He sat upright again and lifted the files from his desk. "Of course, that's another task that proves difficult for you, isn't it?" Rei stared at him for a moment, before uttering a few quiet words.

"What is it you wish me to do?" At that, Satoru smiled and set the files down.

"Wish you to do? Well, if you put it that way, I wish you would get caught up on all that has happened while you were…away. Yes…" his smile shifted into a calculating smirk. "That's it…you were away."

"Katsuragi Misato?" Misato was greeted by an armed guard who saluted her shortly after saying her name. "Or should I say Major Katsuragi. Commander Yoichi is waiting for you. Please come this way." Misato blinked for a moment, not used to such a reception before she followed, motioning for the children to follow. Shinji stared around NERV headquarters, silent as he took in the familiar setting. How long had it been since he'd been in this place? It hadn't been long enough, to Shinji. Asuka looked over to Shinji for a moment, before slapping his shoulder.

"Shinji! Stop looking so spaced out, it's annoying." Shinji looked to Asuka for a moment, sighing as he stared ahead.

"Gomen, Souryu-san. It's just…" He looked around for a moment, letting his hand rest on the railing of the moving platform. "I didn't expect to ever have to come back here. To pilot Eva." Asuka raised a brow at him, then held back a growl, simply scowling.

"Then why didn't you refuse to join? If you're going to be a wimp about it-" Shinji cut her off mid-sentence, staring ahead intently.

"Because people rely on me. If I refuse…then they suffer because of me." He looked down at his feet for a moment, while Asuka set her hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her.

"It's not always about you! Stop being such a baby!" At this outburst, Misato turned her head to them.

"Stop it, both of you!" She wasn't exactly angry, simply disappointed in a way. She thought that since this had been their choice, there would be any of this. Of course…she should have known better. The two children remained silent for the time being, though Asuka gave Shinji a rather bitter stare.

They were lead through the headquarters until they reached the former office of Ikari Gendou. The three of them stood outside the door, Misato glancing back and forth between the children.

"Now, try to be nice, alright Asuka? And Shinji, don't be afraid. Let's just go in there with our heads held high. Remember, he asked us for help." Shinji simply nodded, and Asuka huffed and turned her head to the side. Misato paused for a moment, then stepped towards the door as it opened. She was greeted by a young man, younger than herself even. He stood a few inches taller than she, with messy black hair down to the bottom of his eyes, that is, if his eyes could be seen behind the black sunglasses he wore. Donning a plain black NERV uniform, he raised a hand and waved slightly to Misato.

"Yo, Katsuragi-san." Misato raised a finger, shocked completely at the young man. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this…Satoru?

"What the? You're just a…you're younger than I am! How can you be the Commander of NERV?" Satoru chuckled and adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Well, that reaction was a little better than I thought. Rest assured, I _am_ the Commander of NERV. Please, you may call me Yoichi or Satoru. Either or. Oh, and before we get into any other introductions, I should tell you that the harmonics tests have been moved to tomorrow, the equipment isn't quite ready yet." He stood simply with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets. Misato was still in shock, Asuka was simply uninterested, and looked to Misato with an strange gaze. Shinji bowed and spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, Yoichi-sama." At that, Yoichi tilted his head back slightly, smiling down at Shinji. _So that's Ikari Shinji…he's the one, then._

"Ikari-kun, I take it? It's nice to meet you as well. I'd like to speak to you after-" he paused, looking past the too. "-ah, yes. You're a little late, but I'll let it slide." Shinji stood upright, looking back through the dimly lit room towards a figure in the doorway as a familiar voice called out.

"Yes…I took the scenic route, Sempai.." The young man murmured. Satoru chuckled, shaking his head.

"Looking after Kaji-kun's melon garden, were you? Ikari-kun, Souryu-chan…I'd like you to meet the Sixth Child; Rokuro Yuu." Shinji faced him fully, as did Asuka. Yuu smiled and waved his hand slightly.

"No need for introductions, Sempai. We've already met, you see." Yuu looked directly to Shinji, crimson eyes almost shining in the darkness. "It's nice to see you again, Ikari-kun."

--

Authors Notes: Nya! It's the fifth chapter already? Man. Yuu is here! Trust me folks, there is a very good reason he seems omnipotent -- but he's not really, he's just empathetic. And don't worry, he has his faults too, and those will come to light in the next chapter. Look forward to it! I command ye!


	6. The Sight Unseen

_Disclaimer: Evangelion Not Mine. However, the characters I have created for this fic belong to me…me! The Lord of all Penguins! Right, PenPen? Oh, I should warn you now, this chapter can be a bit confusing…the scenes jump around during the day, but I think if you think about it, you can piece it together Think "Pulp Fiction" and you'll be fine._

_--_

"So, it happened again did it?" Satoru began, staring at the young man across from him. Yuu sat quietly for the moment, staring down at the bandage on his arm, his brow twitching slightly. His eyes shifted, now staring at a small clay figurine clasped in his hand_. '__So he crafted that one too…' _Satoru thought as looked over the figure that Yuu traced his fingers over. '_What's that…ten…twenty, now?'_

"It's because I saw it. It scared me…it reminded me so much of that place." Satoru's expression shifted to one of annoyance with the boy before him.

"You're still calling it by that name? Why don't you just call it what it is?" Satoru grumbled, watching Yuu. "It was the sea of life."

"Shinji-kun, I wanted to speak with you." Satoru spoke as Misato, Yuu, and Asuka left after a brief introduction. Shinji paused and looked to Misato as she was leaving. She gave a brief nod before the door closed, separating them. Shinji turned his eyes to Satoru for a moment, a bit perturbed by the man. Satoru stared down at him, smiling as the young boy spoke.

"What is it, Commander Yoichi?" Shinji asked, his hands hanging at his sides, fingers running over the fabric of his clothes nervously.

"Please, call me Satoru unless the situation calls for otherwise. And right now, it doesn't." He flicked the sunglasses on his forehead to adjust them, walking to his desk and sitting down in the seat. He extended his hand over the console on the edge of the desk and pressed a few keys, causing a chair to rise from the floor in front of the desk.

"Sit, Shinji-kun. You're going to want to for this." Satoru's smile faded in to his usual smirk, and he let his hands rest on the armrests. Shinji stared at the chair that rose from the floor, supported by a single beam which the chair itself could swivel upon. Slowly, he made his way to the chair and sat down, taking a few moments to find the most comfortable position on the chair. Satoru brushed his hair out of his eyes before he began again.

"I have a few questions for you, as well as some things I'd like to discuss. For starters…" he lifted the files he had laid on the desk, looking at them as he paused, before glancing at Shinji to speak. "…I would like to talk to you about a certain time…about three months ago." Shinji's attention snapped up as he set his eyes on Satoru.

"Th-three months ago? The…failed attack on NERV?" Satoru shook his head, leaning back in his chair.

"No…three months ago…Third Impact." Shinji froze with shock at those words. How did Satoru know about that? Before Shinji could react, Satoru continued. "No doubt you're confused. You see…" He sorted through the files and produced a large stapled grouping of papers.

"As I was doing research to take over this position, I chanced across some files, describing the entirety of Third Impact. However, according to this file, NERV was obliterated. Unit 02 was destroyed by SEELE mass production Evangelion Units 05-13, and you yourself…" He paused, looking to Shinji, who was shaking fearfully, his head lowered as he stared at his hands, gripping his knees as hard as he could. Satoru nevertheless continued.

"…you underwent a truly incredible experience." There was a long pause, before Satoru sighed and set the files down. Shinji drew in choked breaths as he tried his best to speak.

"How…how do you know all of this?" Satoru chuckled at the boy's present state, adjusting the tightness of his uniform around his neck.

"How indeed. You are the one who shaped this world, are you not? The only real person you can ask that question to is yourself." He stood now and walked around his desk, folding his hands behind his back. He stood off to Shinji's right, staring towards the door.

"Why do you think all of this knowledge has come to be in my hands? It's no mere coincidence, don't you agree?" Satoru glanced over to Shinji as his form shrunk even more, his shaking growing greater.

"How should I know?! I didn't even want this to happen…I wanted everything to be normal. I never wanted to see Eva or Angels again…" Satoru shook his head, placing a hand on Shinji's shoulder.

"You know what I think? I think maybe you wanted someone to have all the answers to your questions. You wanted someone to confide in who knew what happened to you." Shinji looked up to Satoru for a moment, staring as the man shifted away from the boy and turned his back to him.

"However, I'm not going to give you all the answers. I don't have them. Even if I do have an answer, I'm not going to help you every step of the way. You have to do things on your own if you ever want to grow." He looked over his shoulder to the young boy. Shinji gritted his teeth and stared down at the floor, bitter now, rather than stressed or shocked.

"Then why?! Why did you bring all of this back up to me? I don't want to remember any of that! I wanted to forget it! I wanted to move on…" Satoru stared at the now sobbing Shinji, and folded his arms over his chest.

"Running away are you? I thought you wanted to get stronger?" Shinji stopped his tantrum briefly to look to Satoru, who returned to his seat and took a seat, lifting his files once again. "Only when we climb up from rock bottom, do we gain real strength." Satoru looked past his papers to Shinji, who remained silent. After a moment, he spoke somewhat cynically.

"Go. I don't want you in here, if you're going to be a coward." He folded the top half of the papers down to get a better view of Shinji. "I don't have time to waste on children." Shinji's form stiffened, and memories returned to him.

"I don't have time to waste on a petulant child." Gendou's voice echoed through Shinji's mind. '_No…I won't…'_ Shinji stared at his hands for a moment, watching as he inadvertently opened and closed them, his joints cracking each time he did as the muscles stiffened within.

"A child?" '_I won't let you be right!'_ "I'm not a child anymore…" '_I said I was going to accept what comes…but…I can't…not this'_ Shinji stood and held balled fists at his side. "I'm not a child, damn you!" he turned towards the door and began to sprint, only stopping for the door to open as he ran out of the room and through the halls. Satoru sat with a smirk on his face, watching the boy.

"Well…that got him riled up, didn't it?" He spoke aloud, to himself, as he dropped the files onto his desk, watching the blank pages spread out upon it's surface.

"Though, it was a bit early for me to use my trump card." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Did I unwittingly play into his hand? Is this what _he_ wanted to happen?"

Shinji ran blindly through the halls, overcome with a complex of emotions. Fear, anger, anxiety, and paranoia all flooded his mind as he ran. The hallway wasn't even a hallway to him, just grey blurs with vaguely square shapes, twisting and turning like a slide. He rounded a corner and collided with another who gave out a soft gasp as they fell. Shinji toppled over beside them, then shifted upright to look. Another shock, but the feeling had been dulled to him today. He sat still for a moment, simply staring, before he uttered the words in his mind.

"Ayanami…" Rei sat up and stood slowly, looking at Shinji for a moment. After some time, she spoke now.

"Why have you done this…Ikari?" Shinji raised a brow, unsure of what she meant. He stood to be at eye level with her, but she spoke again before he could.

"Why have you brought me here again?" Rei didn't wait for a response, turning from him to walk away. Shinji watched her leave for a moment, when a thought finally occurred to him.

"But…I didn't…" '_Why __**is **__Rei here? I couldn't…I thought I couldn't…'_ Shinji stood and let his arms hang down at his side. Of all the emotions swirling through his mind, confusion took over, and he stared down at his feet. '_Everything is happening at once…what am I supposed to do?'_

"It looks like your hunch was correct after all, Yoichi-sama." Kaji murmured, dropping a few pictures on the desk. It had been only a single day since Kaji had left on his assignment, and already he had returned. Satoru stood to walk by his side and look at the pictures, each displaying a large mass covered in a tarp, though the final picture showed a large white arm extending from beneath the tarp. At that, Satoru chuckled and placed a hand inside his pocket.

"It would seem so. That means you buy the drinks this time." After a moment, Satoru's comical nature reverted to serious. "Still, I'm left to wonder how they managed to get Lilith out of Terminal Dogma with nobody noticing." Satoru glanced over to Kaji for a moment, as the other man began to speak.

"It more than likely happened when we were in Fukuoka, retrieving the Eva." Satoru nodded and stood upright, placing his hands behind his back.

"They lost Adam, so they're using Lilith to make the new Mass Production Models?" Satoru paused, letting thoughts run rampant. '_So you're going to use Lilith for your agenda. Seems ironic, don't you think?' Wait…_ Satoru placed his hand on his desk and picked up the picture of Lilith underneath the tarp. '_They have Lilith…then they have…!'_ Satoru turned to stare at the door, speaking to Kaji.

"Kaji. Keep an eye on Rei." Kaji raised a brow and looked to Satoru, no longer leaning on the desk either.

"On Ayanami? Why…" Satoru flicked the sunglasses on his nose before glancing to Kaji.

"They have Lilith. We can't afford to let our guard down concerning Rei. They could easily make a new Rei as a spy and eliminate our Rei." Kaji's gaze became just as serious as he nodded.

"I'll do what I can, Yoichi-sama." Satoru slammed a hand down on the desk, the sunglasses nearly falling off of his face at the harsh motion, letting his sharp eyes pierce into Kaji.

"No! I want it done, do you understand?! You do it, and no screw ups! We can't make another Rei, and if we lose ours, we're vulnerable, got it?!" Kaji simply stared as Satoru sighed and calmed down, fixing the sunglasses.

"Have I ever disappointed you, Satoru?" Kaji stated, simply, turning to the door as he started off. Satoru watched him, then chuckled, leaning on his desk.

"No, you haven't. I expect success, is all." His smirk faded as Kaji left, and Satoru stared at the pictures on his desk. He gathered them up and placed them within a drawer on his desk, then started towards his door as well. As he opened it, however, he was met by a familiar face, surprising him. The young boy before him wiped his eyes with a bandage around his forearm.

"Oh, Yuu…is something the matter?" Yuu gritted his teeth as he looked up to Satoru, trying to compose himself.

"Senpai…" Yuu muttered, clutching a small clay figurine in his hand.

"I wonder what went wrong with the equipment?" Shinji mused aloud, walking between Yuu and Asuka on their way to school. Asuka raised her arms up in a shrug, scoffing.

"Who cares? The fact is that the tests were moved to today. Thinking about it won't change anything." Yuu nodded, looking over at Shinji as he raised a single finger.

"She's right Ikari-kun. It's best to just forget about it for now. If you let it bother you, it will disrupt your scores." Shinji glanced up to Yuu for a moment, having had a sudden revelation.

"Speaking of which, I was wondering. How long have you piloted Eva?" Yuu thought for a moment, then chuckled, staring ahead.

"Well, I've never actually been inside Eva…" Asuka turned her attention to Yuu now, her head snapping around to look at him.

"What?! You've never even piloted Eva before? How could you be a pilot, then?!" Yuu folded his arms over his chest, nodding.

"That's true, but…I've done plenty of simulations using simulation bodies." He glanced over to Asuka, then smiled nervously. "Not that knowing that puts you at ease at all." Asuka grumbled and faced ahead again.

"Of course it doesn't! To know I'll by fighting alongside a rookie nobody like you! It's insulting! It's bad enough to have to pilot alongside Shinji, but you too? Oh, my life is going from bad to worse." Shinji looked over to Asuka for a moment, then back to Yuu.

"Don't mind her, she's like that with me too." Shinji murmured, causing Yuu to laugh, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"It's alright. As mean as she is, she does make a point. I have no combat experience, so it'll be a first for me should I get sent onto the field." Shinji nodded, looking ahead as they walked. All save for Yuu stopped, however, once they saw a familiar face walking to school from a slightly different direction as themselves. Noticing his friends no longer at his side, Yuu stopped and turned to look at what they were staring at, until his eyes fell upon Rei, who stopped after having rounded a corner and staring at them.

"Oh…it's you, Ayanami…" Yuu murmured, placing his hands in his pockets, his case hanging from his arm. "Are you feeling well enough to be out?" Yuu's brow twitched slightly as he asked, and he smirked slightly as well. Rei stared at him for a moment, narrowing her own gaze slightly at the smirk. Their first conversation, and it was a façade. '_I dislike this…'_ Rei thought for a moment, before replying appropriately.

"Yes, I am fine. My time in Nerv Central Hospital has allowed me to recover." Yuu nodded, glancing to Asuka as she snapped.

"What? Wonder Girl is still here? I can't believe this, is it really necessary to have this many Eva pilots? Honestly, what is Commander Yoichi thinking? Ugh!" She gave a disgusted shout and started past them, continuing on to school alone. Shinji watched her go, then looked to Yuu.

"I didn't know you knew Ayanami…" Yuu nodded, smiling slightly.

"Yes, that's right. We met when I arrived at Nerv Headquarters." Yuu held the fake smile for now, looking to Ayanami as he thought. '_Though that's just the fabrication _Senpai_ had planned. The truth is, this is the fourth…'_ He turned to face the direction of the school again, smiling truly this time.

"Well, shall we get going then? We'll be late if we don't." Yuu started down the street lifting his case so he carried it over his shoulder. Shinji looked to Rei for a moment, recalling her words from earlier this morning. '_Why have you done this, Ikari?'_ Shinji held her gaze until she turned and started off towards the school. Shinji looked at his feet a moment longer, before starting off as well.

"So, when Second Impact occurred, over half the world's population had been eradicated and…" The teacher rambled on, seemingly the same lecture he always gave. Yuu twirled a pencil in his hand, sighing at the teachers constant jabbering, his attention outside to the trees. He knew about Second Impact already, it was part of his job. He glanced over to Shinji for a moment, who was busy paying attention to the teacher. Sighing, he cast a glance now to Rei. '_Ayanami…what is your purpose? There is something similar to myself in you…' _He watched her eyes stare out into the trees, just as he had been doing earlier. '_Those eyes…'_

Shaking himself free of thought, he faced ahead as the class drew to a close. Kensuke nearby looked to Yuu, who stood and began to prepare to leave.

"Woah, Rokuro-kun, what are you doing? School is only half over!" Yuu paused for a moment, looking to Kensuke and then to the clock.

"Oh, is that so?" He sat back down, as Touji raised a brow at his action.

"Rokuro-kun, you know what's next, right? Don't you have a schedule? It's time for gym class." Yuu stared at Touji for a moment, a bit confused.

"Gym class? I didn't know…I didn't bring any clothes for it." Kensuke and Touji both sighed, Touji slapping his forhead as he spoke.

"Oh man, you're hopeless." Shinji, who had been waiting for Kensuke and Touji nearby, spoke now as he approached.

"I'm sure they'll give you a break, it being your first full day here." Yuu looked over to Shinji and nodded, smiling slightly.

"What? You didn't bring any clothes?" The teacher scolded Yuu for a moment, then sighed, pointing to the track. "Fine. Just run in what you've got for now. Can't have you falling behind." Yuu left to run with the other kids, sticking close to Shinji and the others. After a few laps, Shinji looked to Yuu, who had become quite out of breath despite having run so little.

"Rokuro-kun, you don't look so well." Yuu looked to Shinji, smiling slightly as he nodded.

"My body is just a little weaker than normal people, that's all. Don't worry about it." Yuu muttered out as he ran, looking ahead. His speech was interrupted occasionally by breaths as he continued. "But it's okay. I really enjoy being outside like this. It's better than being stuck inside. At least out here, I can see the sky."

The class continued as normal, leading them to basketball. Shinji sat aside with Kensuke, who was busy staring up at the pool area, towards the girls.

"Heh, I bet Touji-kun and Rokuro-kun wish they were in our position right now. Instead they're stuck playing basketball." He laughed and looked to Shinji, who was staring at his feet, lost in thought of the events of the day. "Hey, Shinji-kun. Are you okay? You seem a little spaced out today." Shinji's attention snapped up to Kensuke, as though he had revealed some truth to him, then faced forward, staring off into the distance.

"You think so?" He mused, smiling slightly, though it was just to hide his thoughts.

"Oi! Rokuro-kun, pass it!" Yuu stared down in the basketball in his hands, tentative about what he was doing. He'd never really played basketball, and now wasn't exactly the greatest time to start. He glanced around at the potential players he could pass too, thinking for a moment.

Another player, having apparently grown tired of Yuu's inaction, drove towards him to steal the ball, driving his shoulder into Yuu as he pulled the ball away, knocking the boy to the ground. This resulted in an assortment of jeers from the others, but Yuu didn't concern himself with it. Instead, he winced as he sat upright, then looked at his arm. A trickle of blood ran down from a cut on his forearm, and he froze with fear. What started as a small whimper, turned into a sharp gasp as Yuu's eyes went wide. He stared into the deep redness of his blood on his pale white skin, mirrored in his crimson eyes, and he seemed lost a his body began to shake. He found himself assaulted by images of that red lapping on the white sands, washing away any traces of human existence. Images of the world devoid of life, lacking the green trees and grass or the colors of the flowers. The land dark and ravaged by some unknown disaster, and a pale face with a twisted smile staring at him from afar.

All attention was drawn to Yuu as he let out a terrifying scream, broken by gasps which became screams themselves. The other students stared at him, some uttering words like wimp or baby, though Touji moved towards his friend, as Kensuke and Shinji stood to get a better view.

"Rokuro-kun! Hey, what's your deal?" Touji tried to shake Yuu back to his senses, though the boy was uncooperative. The teacher ran over to see what was going on, kneeling down beside Yuu, before looking at his arm and pulling him to his feet, dragging him off to the nurse's office. Touji stood staring after him as Kensuke and Shinji ran over.

"What happened to Rokuro-kun?" Shinji asked, looking to Touji. Touji shook his head, crossing his arms.

"I don't know…he was knocked over during the game and scraped his arm…but he took one look at his arm and freaked out." Shinji stared in silence as Yuu and the teacher disappeared into the school while Kensuke spoke.

"Huh…maybe he's just afraid of the sight of blood?"

Yuu sat upright, swiftly, waking in a cold sweat as he stared around at the room he was in. The dream of that terrifying world haunted him again in his sleep. He looked down at his arm for a moment, his eyes falling on bandages wrapped around his arm.

"Bandages…my arm…" The memory of falling on the basketball court came to him, and he remembered the blood…and the dream. He felt the pain and the fear start to overcome him again, and he clenched the hand of his injured arm tight, setting his eyes on his case nearby. Reaching over to the case, he dug inside until he retrieved a small, clay figurine from within, running his hands over the details carved upon it. However, the fear didn't fade. '_Even this isn't calming me…and I loved carving it_…' Wiping stubborn tears from his eyes, he looked up towards the window before tightening his grip on the small figurine.

After some time, there was a brief knock on the door to the Nurse's office, before the door slowly opened.

"Rokuro-kun…it's time for lunch - Oh?" The nurse looked around the empty room for a moment, before she saw the open window nearby.

Having run as hard as his body would have allowed him, Yuu eventually found himself inside of Nerv Headquarters, heading towards the office of Satoru. Rounding the corner, he found himself face to face with Kaji, pausing for a moment to look up at the man.

"Oh, hey there Rokuro-kun. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" Kaji stared down at the child for a moment, smiling, before noticing the boys arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Yuu stood, staring at him for a moment, before he pushed past Kaji, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Kaji-sama! I need to get through!" Kaji watched as Yuu headed towards Satoru's office, sighing. Yuu stopped before the office door, trying to compose himself as the door opened, Satoru staring down at him through his sunglasses.

"Oh, Yuu…is something the matter?" Yuu gritted his teeth as he looked up to Satoru, still trying to compose himself.

"Senpai…" Yuu muttered, clutching the small clay figurine in his hand.

"So, it happened again did it?" Satoru began, staring at the young man across from him. Yuu sat quietly for the moment, staring down at the bandage on his arm, his brow twitching slightly. His eyes shifted, now staring at the figurine clasped in his hand. '_So he crafted that one too…' _Satoru thought as looked over the figure that Yuu traced his fingers over. '_What's that…ten…twenty, now?'_

"It's because I saw it. It scared me…it reminded me so much of that place." Satoru's expression shifted to one of annoyance with the boy before him.

"You're still calling it by that name? Why don't you just call it what it is?" Satoru grumbled, watching Yuu. "It was the sea of life." Satoru stood, crossing his arms as he kept his gaze on the boy. "The primordial soup of humanity before it was given form by god." Yuu looked up to Satoru, defiance in his eyes.

"But why me?! Why would I see something like that? And that face…those red eyes staring at me with that damned smile…it reminds me of _him_." A sharp sound echoed through the office as Satoru struck Yuu with the palm of his hand.

"Idiot! The more you think about it, the more it's going to torment you. Haven't you realized that by now?" Satoru glared through the black lenses down at Yuu, who rubbed his cheek and sighed.

"I can't help it…that place, the sea of life, is a place devoid of everything I love. No trees, no nature, no people. It's horrible…" Satoru sighed and found his seat again, shaking his head.

"Take some time to relax and rest up before the harmonics tests begin. The equipment should be ready by the time the other pilots get here." He paused for a moment, looking at Yuu. "Will you be alright?" Yuu nodded silently, standing up.

"Good. Report to the lab as the schedule dictates." Yuu nodded once again, though he spoke this time.

"Right, Senpai." Yuu turned and started towards the door, trying to clear his thoughts as Satoru stared at his back.

'_Yuu…I can't let him know what he really saw.'_ Satoru thought, folding his arms over his chest. '_If I did…then Shinji would be…'_

--

Authors Notes: Well, Chapter Six is finally done. Hey, I wonder what's under Satoru's sunglasses, anyway? Maybe we'll find out what it is in the next chapter! Just one more reason to read on, no?


	7. I Am Not

Disclaimer: I don't own Eva or anything like that. I do own my own created characters though, but why you would want them…eh, I don't even wanna think about it; nasty. Also, extreme thanks to Jabberwok for ridin' through my BS for so long. Kudos man.

--

Silence. That's all Shinji could hear at the moment - not the rumble of the train. Not the chattering of nearby passengers, nothing. The world flew past him outside the train, taking them to the station nearest to HQ. It was almost time for their harmonics tests, but that was the last thing on their mind. They…Shinji looked over to Asuka sitting not far from him, searching her features, lost in thought, for some sign of how she was feeling. Noting the third's gaze upon her, Asuka looked up to Shinji, raising a brow.

"What is it? Are you staring at me again you pervert?" A quick movement of her wrist and arm, and she flicked her hair back, folding her arms over her chest. Shinji quickly looked straight ahead, not apologizing, surprisingly…enough so that Asuka's attitude and posture were broken as she listened to what the boy was saying.

"Asuka…you saw her to, right? Rei?" Shinji placed his hands together, fingers nervously intertwining together as he conversed with the red-haired girl at his side.

"What? You wanted to bother me with crap about Wonder Girl? I saw her, so what?" Asuka huffed and leaned back against the seat, looking in the opposite direction of Shinji, finding the door to the next car of the train suddenly very interesting.

"She's not supposed to…I mean, I didn't think she'd be here…did you?" Shinji's fingers twiddled endlessly, moving over one another slowly.

"I don't care…why are you talking to me about stupid Wonder Girl?" Asuka narrowed her eyes, glaring at the door, seeing the image of Rei in her mind's eye. "I hate her."

Shinji's index fingers stopped their twiddling, breaking out of the interwove digits. "But…it _is_ nice that she's back, isn't it? I didn't expect to see her -" Shinji was cut off by Asuka, who now turned to face the young boy, grabbing him by the nape of the neck.

"Rei, Rei, Rei! Is that all you can talk about? That's all you've been talking about since lunch!" She gave him a light shove and released his neck, growling and looking straight ahead, ignoring the stares the two got. "I don't care about _her_." She clenched her teeth as she fell silent, with only her thoughts. 'I wish she hadn't come back…because of her…' she glanced over to Shinji for a moment, then briskly turned her attention elsewhere.

--

A long, deep sigh escaped the lips of the black-haired young man as he stared at the ceiling, his hands resting behind his head. It wouldn't be long now before the synchro tests began. Yuu'd performed plenty of these before, but something was a little different this time around. Was it the addition of the Second and Third Child? He sat upright and looked towards his bedroom door, before moving off of his bed and walking slowly towards said door, pushing it open carefully and looking out into the hallway. "Nerv headquarters…it's rather depressing, don't you think?" He spoke, to no one in particular, an oddity of his.

Shutting the door behind him, Yuu began to walk slowly down the hallway, his eyes scanning the area. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a single bit of greenery in this place." Yuu stopped at an intersection of hallways, looking down to his right. For just a brief moment, he could of swore he saw someone at the other end of the hallway. "Who was…" Letting the words trail off, he started down the hallway, cautiously.

For a time, it was like a game of cat and mouse for Yuu. He would round a corner and see just a glimpse of the figure. It was like whatever it was, was taunting him to keep following, but it would always be out of reach. Grumbling, the young man let curiosity get the best of him and started into a jog, pursuing the object of his curiosity slightly faster now. He rounded the corner, finally believing he'd get a glimpse of whatever it was he was chasing, and -

"Woah!" Yuu skidded to a stop, falling backwards and onto his backside, letting out a groan as he rubbed his now sore backside. "Arg…curiosity really killed the cat…hm?" He looked up, the person he had been chasing was standing before him now, looking down upon him. "Oh, Ayanami-chan…I see."

Yuu stood up slowly, watching her carefully. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your room?" Rei stared for a moment at Yuu, before returning the gesture.

"What about you? Should you not be in your room as well?" Yuu cringed slightly at her words, chuckling as she pointed out the obvious fact that he was doing the same thing. "Oh, well, I…um…" He scratched his chin for a moment, looking aside before returning his eyes to Rei.

"Well, you see…I don't' really like my room. It's bland and empty…I wanted to look around to see if there was even one potted plant or something around here…I don't even have a window in my room for crying out loud."

Rei stared in silence as Yuu spoke, listening. "I do not have a window either. At least, not in my room here at headquarters." Yuu raised a brow, somewhat shocked as Rei began to walk back towards her room, turning to keep up with her. "You have a room outside of headquarters? Aah. I'm jealous."

"Why is that?" Rei queried, keeping her gaze forward, while Yuu kept his on Rei. "Well, you have a place outside! Trees, sunlight, people, all the things I like." Rei kept silent, only once did she cast a glance over to Yuu. 'Things I like..?' She thought for a moment, what was it that she liked? Was there anything she had that she wanted of her own accord? Or did she only have that which was given to her? "I do not like my room."

Yuu stared at her for a moment, somewhat confused. She didn't like her room? Was this the same Rei Ayanami he met before? He knew full well of the capability of cloning Rei, but he also knew that they no longer possessed Lilith. Cloning Rei was currently impossible. So this must be the same Rei. "You don't like your room?"

"I dislike things that are fake." Yuu pondered what this could mean for a moment, watching as Rei stopped, seemingly in thought. 'Then you're a toy, just like I thought! You're an unthinking, emotionless doll!' Rei looked to Yuu, then stared walking forward again, leaving the puzzled boy to stagger behind her, trying to keep up with her brisk pace. 'I am not a doll'

"H-hey, wait!" Yuu tried to keep up with her, managing to get to her side and keep along with her. "Things that are fake? What do you mean by that?"

"Things that are not real. My room is not real." Yuu stopped for a moment, staring at his feet as Rei wandered off ahead of him, lost in his own thoughts now. 'Her room isn't real? What is she talking about? Doesn't she still stay at that apartment?' He looked up, watching Rei disappear down another corridor, his eyes softening slightly as she vanished from view.

"Ayanmi…Rei…what will you do to remedy that I wonder?" His eyes shifted from soft to serious as he placed his hands in his pockets, shaking his head. "It seems…I have some work to do, then." From his pockets, he retrieved a small slip of paper, reading over it carefully. "Yuu - Spend some time with Rei. It will do you well." A slight came from the boy as he shoved the paper back into his pocket, looking off to the side. "What's in your head, Sempai?"

--

"You remember the procedure, right Maya-chan?" Satoru queried, his hands resting in his pockets as he watched the young doctor. Maya stood a few inches taller now, and her hair had grown to her shoulders, being tied back behind her head for the time being. It seemed as if for Maya, more than just three months had passed. Of course, this was attributed to a bit of a bout of depression in being unable to see Ritsuko anymore - the two lost contact after the attack on NERV. Since, she'd stopped caring for her hair and appearance as much as before. Currently, she wore the same kind of white lab coat that her predecessor would wear, perhaps out of respect or simply necessity. "Yes, commander. Don't worry, I can handle it."

Satoru donned his usual smirk and turned away from Maya, waving his hand. "See that you do. I'm going to wake Yuu - Katsuragi and the others should arrive soon. Why don't you go greet them?" Maya stared for a moment as Satoru started to walk away, taking a few steps after him. "Commander, what about Rei?"

Satoru stopped, placing a hand on his chin for a moment before turning with a slightly abashed smile. "Could you maybe wake her for me, Maya-chan? I've never really bonded much with Rei, she seems to dislike me." Maya frowned, walking past him now. "Commander…alright. I'll take care of it, but don't forget I have work to do as well. I can't prepare the tests if I'm busy waking up Rei." Laughing Satoru nodded, waving his hand once more.

"I got ya, Maya-chan. By the way, could you analyze the old data on the MP Evangelion? I have a feeling SEELE will send those our way at some point or another. So I want to -" He stopped, staring at Maya, who was now grinding a varied assortment of sharp, pointy objects into him with her eyes. The nervous expression returned to his face as he turned away. "Scaary…I'll take care of the data on the Evangelion then." Maya raised the clipboard in her hand and lightly tapped it against Satoru's head, walking past him.

"I'll go wake Rei then. Try not to overwork me, Satoru-kun." Satoru smiled, a playful one rather than embarrassed for once as she walked away.

--

Shinji, Asuka, and Misato stood on the slowly moving platform that was taking them ever deeper into the earth - into NERV. For the second time this week, the trio let the familiarity of their surroundings soak into their very being. Misato, apprehensive for the safety of the children, knowing full well that being in this place could very well lead to nothing more than suffering. Asuka, who saw the return of the Evangelion as a chance for her to shine once again, to claim her rightful place at the top once more after her insufferable defeat at the hands of one Shinji Ikari.

Finally, Shinji - who had a myriad of thoughts running through his mind - all of them, questions asking why, save for one thought: 'No more running away…I mustn't run away…' Satoru's words flashed into his mind. 'Running away are you? I don't have time to waste on children.' Shinji clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, for the first time in a long time, he felt the desire for challenge well up in his chest. 'I'm not a child anymore.' His eyes drifted to Asuka for a moment, before he looked away, briskly. Asuka, having felt the boy's gaze on her, turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong, Shinji? Scared to get back into the Eva?" Shinji looked to Asuka for a moment, the bitter high he'd been on after thinking about Satoru's words seeping through into his own. "I'm not scared! I'm more than willing to pilot Eva!" Asuka was slightly taken aback at this, but nevertheless saw it as Shinji challenging her, and took a step towards him.

"Oh yeah? Prove it, then! We'll see who's better when the tests start!" Shinji returned Asuka's now silent glare, standing with balled fists as the two squared off. Misato, fed up with this behavior, turned around and placed her hands on their shoulders, pulling them slightly apart.

"Knock it off! Both of you! This isn't the time for stuff like that! If you want to succeed then you have to learn to work together!" She released them and looked towards the floor indicator, as they grew closer and closer to their intended destination. "Don't forget when you two practiced to fight the Seventh Angel. That teamwork is still crucial, got it?" Asuka and Shinji huffed, ironically at the same time, their actions mirroring one another. Misato sighed, looking ahead once more. 'At least their actions are still together…'

The elevator gave it's signature ring as the doors opened, and the trio was greeted by a familiar yet unfamiliar face. It was the face of a woman they had seen before, yet, it was markedly different. Indeed, it elicited a shock from the group, causing them to stare with mouths agape and eyes wide as Maya greeted them.

"Ah, hello, Misato-chan. And to you two as well, Shinji-kun, Asuka-chan." Maya didn't miss a beat with the two of them reacting in such a way, turning slightly to allow them off of the elevator. "Please, come this way and we'll get straight to the test." She stopped, as if finally realizing they were in a state of shock. "What's wrong?"

"You…you've changed, Maya-chan." Misato began, looking over her new apperance. Maya chuckled at that, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. "Yeah, I have…but we'll have more time for catching up later - Right now, we're on a bit of a strict time schedule." Shinji looked to Maya for a moment, before nodding in silent compliance.

--

Shinji stepped into the locker room, the silhouette screen dividing the room in half as usual. On the other side, Asuka arrived at the same time, and both children were greeted by their two fellow pilots. Shinji and Yuu, and Asuka and Rei. Conversation on the ladies' side of the screen was nonexistent, as the two girl separated themselves from each other and dressed silently. Shinji, however, spotted Yuu, who was busy changing out of his clothes. Quickly, the boy looked away, though the motion attracted the attention of Yuu, who turned his head to look at Shinji, standing off to his left.

"Oh, Shinji-kun. I'll be finished here, shortly. You should be getting ready, too, you know." Yuu turned his attention once more to the plug suit lying before him, picking it up and holding it in his hands for a moment, studying it. Silver body, with gold on the back, forearms, and outside of the thighs as well as the shins. Shinji, who had looked for a place for his eyes to rest aside from Yuu, spotted his own plug suit and noted that the silver that normally adorned only the chest, was now in the same places as on Yuu's armor - the back, shins, and the like. "What? What's this?" The female shout from the other side of the divider confirmed Shinji's beliefs.

"What?! What have they done to my beautiful red plug suit?" Indeed, Asuka's plug suit now had reddish-orange additions in the same places, as did Rei's though the color was identical to that of Yuu's. Yuu, overhearing Asuka and Shinji's surprise looked toward Asuka's silhouette, chuckling.

"It's Senpai's idea. He thought that the plug suits needed a bit more protection from wear and tear, and in actual combat situations, so he added some extra armor to them." Asuka grumbled, muttering complaints under her breath.

"He treats us like we're babies…" She cast her eyes over to Rei, who dressed in silence, though she made a relatively odd gesture, one Asuka hadn't seen her make before. Her fingers traced lightly over the gold additions to the plug suit, and after a long moment, trace of a smile crept to her lips. Asuka couldn't hide her shock, so she turned to face Rei, smirking. "Oh? What's this? Is that a smile I see on your face there, Wonder Girl?"

At that, Rei turned away from Asuka, here eyes still resting on the plug suit, particularly the golden color of the new armor. After a time, she spoke, softly as she normally did. "I do not know what you're talking about."

Shinji, who had idly been listening in on the girls conversation for a time, turned his attention again to Yuu, finding an oddity about the boy he'd never paid close attention to before. There were scar marks along his left shoulder blade, circling around his shoulder across his ribs and collar bone, dividing his shoulder and arm from the rest of his body. Now paying closer attention to the detail, he was able to see just exactly what part of his skin tones were different. There was also a long scar down the front of his chest, passing over his sternum and left set of ribs.

Catching Shinji staring, Yuu shifted his weight onto one leg and chuckled. "Do the scars disturb you, Shinji-kun?" He asked, tapping his own left shoulder lightly. Shinji, blushing slightly in embarrassment of being caught, looked away. "N-no, it's not that…" Yuu chuckled once more, returning his focus to donning the plug suit.

"How…did you get the scars? And your arm -" He let his words trail off as he looked back over to Yuu, who shrugged his shoulders as if the question was just a passing thought.

"The one over my chest is a surgery scar. Nothing really major, just part of some early complications in life. After all, I was born a few months before second impact." Shinji seemed surprised at this, but didn't bother to make any statements on the matter - he'd never met anyone close to his age who had been alive before Second Impact. Of course, he doubted Yuu would be able to remember anything, having been so young. He was snapped to reality when Yuu continued, albeit it a brief continuation.

"And my arm…well, that's something for another time." Yuu pressed the button on his plug suit, causing it to fit itself to his body snugly. Turning to Shinji, he smiled briefly. "Well, then. You should get ready so we can get going. See you, Shinji-kun." He waved for a moment, then turned to enter the testing area, leaving Shinji to stare at his own plug suit in silence.

--

"Lower the plug depth. I want to check these results against their last recorded synch-ratios." His voice as calm as ever, Satoru sat at a desk inside the box overlooking the simulation entry-plugs. His fingers danced along a keyboard, pulling up various old records of the three prior pilots, as well as more recent records for Yuu. Not far from his desk, Misato stared through the observation window to the four plugs. A multitude of thoughts ran through the young woman's mind, and not a single one of them didn't have something to do with Evangelion or Nerv. Prying herself away from the glass, she turned towards Satoru at his desk, folding her arms over her waist and attempted to speak to him, but was interrupted by Maya nearby.

"Is that really wise, Commander? It's his first time in that kind of a simulation plug. Aren't you pushing him a little too far?" Maya looked up for a moment from her clipboard to speak directly to Satoru, eying the young man carefully. "There's no such thing as too much. Yuu can handle it." Satoru's brow twitched for a moment as a series of beeps came from the terminal nearby, signifying that the pilot's synch ratio was beginning to decline. "Hm…maybe it was too much. Fine, bring it back up." A slight scowl crawled onto Misato's face as she heard the words Satoru spoke, and she finally spoke up, seizing her chance.

"I had a few questions I wanted to ask you, Commander." Misato asked, a bit cynicism in her voice as she did so. Satoru, his eyes shifting to look at her only briefly, gave a curt reply. "Shoot." Misato stepped cautiously towards the younger man, looking over his shoulder to the screen, a screen she'd seen hundreds of times before. The only difference was the addition of a fourth set of data…and that's exactly what concerned her.

"Unit 00 was completely obliterated, wasn't it?" She placed her hand on the back of his chair, turning it so that the man would have no way to avoid her by simply brushing off her comments as distracting from his work. "If that's the case, than what's the use of having four pilots if we only have three Eva?"

Satoru grumbled for a moment, the thought of how much he disliked explaining things to belligerent people. "True, we only have three Evangelion. However, there is something you must remember, Katsuragi." Satoru stood, slowly from his chair, causing Misato to step back away from him, though this motion allowed him the freedom to move, and thus freed him from her attempt at intimidating an answer out of him. Despite that, he delivered said answer to her. "Our enemy is SEELE. We are no longer fighting against the Angels, an unknown enemy with unknown potential." Idly adjusting the glasses upon his nose, he turned his head to face the simulation bay. "This time, we know who our enemy is, and more importantly, what they can do. This is no longer a fight for survival against said unknown enemy. This is a war against our fellow man. You could say that having more pilots than Evangelion is like having more soldiers than guns - guns can be picked up by anyone trained to use them, but soldiers have to be replaced."

Misato was taken aback at his callousness and stepped forward, reaching out to grab the collar of his shirt. This wasn't Ikari Gendou - this wasn't a man she had to fear. "These are children! They aren't trained soldiers! How can you treat them like they are!?" Satoru's hands clasped around her wrists, pulling her hands from his shirt. He pushed her back, gently, releasing her wrists as he spoke, his eyes narrowing behind the jet black lenses. Misato could still feel his gaze, despite not being able to see his eyes.

"Can you pilot the Eva? No one else can do it. Not you, not I, only them." Smoothing out the new wrinkles in his shirt, Satoru strode over to the window, placing his hand upon the glass. "Do not forget, Katsuragi, that these children also recognize that. And it was of their own free will that they came here." He scanned his eyes over each individual simulation plug, slowly beginning a list. "Asuka, the pride of being the best drives her to pilot the Evangelion to her fullest. Shinji, seeking the praise of others and validation of his existence. Rei, who knows nothing else. And Yuu…who simply wishes to protect all that he sees, or so he claims." Those last few words hung in Misato's mind for a moment. 'So he claims? What's that supposed to mean?' Donning his usual smirk, Satoru returned his attention to Misato, turning his back to the plugs. "Make no mistake, Katsuragi. I do not view these children as tools for war. I respect them, which is why I asked if they were willing to fight of their own accord. I was only making an analogy in the crudest sense."

"You're awfully well informed for someone who's just started out as the commander of NERV." Misato snapped, no longer gracing Satoru with her gaze, instead turning it to the bay that he had been looking at only moments before. "You have Kaji to thank for that, he is the one who recovered all the data on those children." Misato's brow twitched at the mention of the name. She'd suspected Kaji had a hand in this, though she'd rather he not given the information to someone like Satoru. "I suppose that if you look at it that way, it begins to make a bit more sense." Misato murmured, more to herself than to Satoru, who had now come up to her side.

"Katsuragi, don't think for a second that I'm lying when I say I care for these children. Their safety is top priority." One again, he adjusted the glasses upon his face, despite the fact that they did not need to be adjusted. It seemed to be just an odd quirk of his, one that was quickly starting to drive Misato up the wall.

"So then…how _are_ their synch ratios doing?" Misato moved over to Maya, standing just behind her and reading the screen. "Hey…this is-" Maya briskly interrupted Misato, though not trying to interrupt to be rude, simply wishing to speak to make Misato understand.

"Yes - the synch ratios are paired up. I ran a few diagnostics checks and ran their ratios against each other. Through these methods, I was able to discern that Shinji's ratios rise and fall quite similar to Asuka's. Sometimes it's a direct relationship, where Shinji's will rise the same amount as Asuka's." A few beeps and rapid keystrokes, and a new set of data was displayed. "Other times it's inversely related - Shinji's will rise as much as Asuka's falls, or vice a versa."

Misato ran the thoughts through her mind, a question burning within it. "What about Rei? And Yuu?"

"They only have one kind of relationship. Never inverse, always direct. Almost exact, to be honest." Another set of keystrokes and the data was displayed. "We're thinking from now on, we'll run the harmonics tests on multiple days, using these pairs. But, I want to run a cross test, to see how well Yuu would do with Asuka or Shinji. I know how well the other three do." Misato stood upright, placing her hand on Maya's shoulder.

"Wow, Maya-chan. You've come a long way since we last met, it's like I'm looking at another Ritsuko." Maya's brow twitched at that, and her fingers stopped their typing for a moment, causing her to look off to the side, her gaze falling on Satoru. "Please, Misato-chan…don't mention her, okay?" Misato was confused at Maya's sudden change of attitude, following her gaze to Satoru.

"Yes…they've lost contact with each other… a falling out it seems…" He sighed, adjusting those classes, causing Misato to grit her teeth. "It happened around the same time Ritsuko disappeared …when we were in Fukuoka."

Misato slowly began to piece together what this had meant, and turned to face the man at her side briskly. "No…you don't possibly mean-!" Satoru shook his head, placing his hands in his pockets.

"We don't know _what_ it means. All we know, is we can't find her. Not even Kaji was able to find a trace. So let's drop it for now, okay?" Satoru stepped towards Maya, placing a hand on her shoulder as he leaned down to speak so only she could hear him.

"Don't worry, Maya-chan. Kaji's doing what he can." Maya shook her head quietly, returning to her work as she did so. "Don't worry yourself, Satoru-kun. I've moved on from that…I've had to. Thank you, though…it _is_ appreciated. Hm?" She paused, looking at the screen, a window popping up displaying the time and beeping. "Oh, Satoru-kun -" She stopped, looking up to the man.

"Yes, I know Maya-chan. It's time." He turned to Misato, smirking slightly. "Well, Misato, it's time for the next part of their training. They're going to have to learn to defend themselves. It is why I had them clear their schedules after all." Misato turned to him with a glare, her arms folded over her waist.

"And what do you intend to put them through now, _commander?" _This elicited a chuckle from Satoru, shaking his head slightly. "Physical training. Nothing to excessive, just some basic self defense courses and exercise. I want them to be able to handle themselves and get to a safe place should we be attacked."

--

"Physical training? What, like running and push up's and stuff?" Shinji queried, watching as Satoru stood in the briefing room, the projector down and the lights off, casting and eerie darkness over the room, despite there being a dull light coming from the projector itself. A brief nod came from Satoru, who took a seat in the front row beside Maya and Misato.

"Senpai…" Yuu began, leaning forward so that Satoru would be able to hear. "You know I'm not exactly fit for stuff like this…plus, I know a lot about this already." Satoru looked over his shoulder to the boy, flicking him lightly in the forehead. "Ah, stop. You're fit enough for it - we've already been through a few drills. Just sit and recap the basics." Yuu shrugged his shoulders and moved to the back row, taking a seat beside Rei, who was now in between Shinji and Yuu. Asuka say to Shinji's left, leaning forward to look to the end of the row to Yuu.

"What's the matter, rookie? Too scrawny to hold your own?" Yuu looked to Asuka with slightly narrowed eyes, smiling. "As a matter of fact, I can do it, just not for long. I'm physically weaker than someone my age and build should be, according to Doctor Ibuki. Probably because I'm a premature birth." Shinji looked surprised, turning to Yuu now.

"What? You were born premature?" Asuka, too, was slightly taken aback by this remark. "Shouldn't you be dead? You don't hear of many premature births surviving after Second Impact." Yuu shrugged his shoulders, brushing his hair back and out of his eyes.

"Maybe. I got a few transplants here and there…" He chuckled for a moment, unable to keep a straight face at those words, causing a bit of confusion between the two children listening. "So I was lucky…but, I still have to take medication now and again." Interrupting the conversation, a quiet voice spoke up between them.

"The movie is starting." Rei stated simply, staring at the screen. Shinji and Asuka both looked, while Yuu turned his attention to Rei. "Nothing really phases you, does it, Ayanami-chan?" Rei let her eyes drift over to Yuu slowly, before looking ahead once more.

"I already knew that information about you. I know much about you already." Yuu's brow twitched slightly, the idea of that not exactly comforting him any. "You know a lot, eh? Then…" he looked ahead, sitting upright in his chair and speaking in quiet whispers to her. "Keep it under wraps. A lot of that stuff is…I'd just rather it not be known, okay? A secret between us."

'A secret..?' Those words mulled over in Rei's mind for a moment, wondering if it really was a secret. Satoru knew about it, Kaji knew about it, Rei knew about it…but they knew everything anyway. "I will keep it a secret." Yuu was surprised by this, and he let that surprise stun him slightly, before smiling to her, looking over to Shinji now. "So, Shinji-kun…what's piloting an Evangelion really like?" Shinji seemed to snap back to reality, looking over to Yuu, before falling quiet.

"It's…something difficult to describe." Asuka butted in, hearing Shinji's apprehension in describing what she did best. "Oh come on, Shinji, it's not that hard to describe. It's like…well, when you get into a fight it's that adrenaline and…" It seemed that even Asuka had difficulty explaining it in words Yuu could understand, causing the boy to sit back in his seat and sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

"It is different for every pilot." Rei chimed in, offering a glare from Asuka and Shinji's approval. "Yeah, that's probably the best way to put it, like Ayanami-chan said." Yuu opened one eye, looking over to Rei for a moment, contemplating her words. 'I wonder…what it will be like for me?'

Satoru sighed, adjusting his glasses, letting Misato garner his attention for the time being. "They sure do like to chatter, don't they, Katsuragi-chan?" Misato, who could have ground coffee beans in her teeth, though not at Satoru's irritating habit, but at the children behind them, grumbled bitterly.

"They ought to be paying attention. Maybe we can throw them into a headlock or two and that will set 'em straight." Satoru laughed, though he tried to bury it in his arm as a chuckle, bringing Misato's ire upon him now. "You're no better, Satoru." Satoru raised a brow at this, looking over to Misato only until Maya spoke.

"She has a point. You're just as much as a trouble maker as Asuka." Satoru whined, slightly, the double-teaming onslaught of teasing, though one was serious and the other joking, somewhat much for him. "Hey, I am not…I just know how to have a good time." His brows perked as a slight beeping came from his watch, and he slowly stood up. "Excuse me, ladies…I have an appointment to keep." Misato looked up as Satoru started to leave, her thoughts and worries getting the best of her. 'Is he going to meet Kaji-kun?' Her thoughts were broken as Maya shifted a seat closer to her.

"Don't let him rub you the wrong way, Misato-chan. He's really not that bad, you just have to get to know him. He's got a dry sense of humor." Maya idly fiddled with her now long hair, watching Misato's reactions to her statement - a mixture of exasperation and understanding. "He's a lot like Kaji-kun…the bastard."

Maya seemed surprised at Misato's revelation, looking at her like the last horse that crossed the finish line. "You mean you don't know, Misato-chan?" Maya leaned over and whispered to the older woman, causing her to stand up and shout, interrupting the movie.

"What did you say?!"

--

Sunlight shined fiercely onto the small bus stop benches, a somewhat older, black haired man sat upon them, his face hidden behind a newspaper as he read in silence. The sound of birds chirping from a nearby wire and the crumple of paper echoed against the concrete and steel concoctions that made up the city of Tokyo-3. An occasional breeze would blow through, causing the wires to shake and the birds to fly away in an uproar. Slowly, a younger man made his way to the benches, a newspaper under his arm as he sat down opposite the older male, brushing his longer black hair out of his eyes and opening up his own paper, letting out a long sigh. A silence passed between the two, a breeze passed over them, before the younger man spoke.

"Nice day out, today, isn't it?" Satoru murmured, idly, not taking his eyes once off of the paper in his hands. The older gentleman said nothing for a time, turning the page. He finally spoke, however, addressing the male behind him.

"Isn't it a little dangerous to be meeting in public like this?" This time, it was the younger man's turn to be silent, mirroring his earlier actions of simply reading the paper. "How are things?"

"They're going along well…that being said…" Satoru lowered his paper slightly, turning his head to look over his shoulder to the older man. "You're a hard man to follow after…Ikari."

--

Author's…uh…notes?: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA coughhackweeze Ahem. S'cuse me.


	8. The Letters Spelling PAST

Author's Notes: Okay, here it is. Chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed the ride so far, and to those who have and continue to come back, I thank you. Please, review and let me know how I'm doing ; I need it.

#--

Back, back to years past. Youth returns, as do old memories and fateful encounters. Now, a train car, the low rumbling of the train passing over the tracks as the young Katsuragi Misato help tight onto the handle, looking over her dress and sighing at the wrinkles. 'My favorite dress…ruined…damn that Kaji-kun!'

"I swear…Kaji-kun isn't going to hear the end of it from me after that…I can't believe he would show up looking like that, embarrassing me." Misato griped, recalling her earlier date with a certain Ryoji Kaji, who had arrived in his normal appearance - scruffy facial hair, somewhat ragged clothes and hair. During the course of the date, it seemed, Kaji's inappropriate - in Misato's eyes - advances towards her had caused various wrinkles and other blemishes on Misato's current favorite dress.

"At least his friend was better behaved. Speaking of which, Ritsu-chan, how was your date?" Misato turned her attention now to the young blonde woman to her right, holding onto a handle in one hand, while she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her purse.

"You call that a date? I couldn't stand it, he's not my type." She released the handle for a moment, digging through her purse now to find a small, white lighter - a black cat painted on the side. "I'm not sure what it was, but I got this feeling from him like everything he was doing was fake."

Ritsuko lifted the cigarette to her red painted lips and let it rest there as she lit it. She took a slow drag, looking upwards at the sign above her head that read 'No Smoking'. Slender fingers pulled the cigarette from her lips, returning it to her hand as she blew a plume of smoke, watching as it rolled over the sign.

"Not like he was trying to trick me or anything, just that he didn't really mean anything he said. It was like he was just going through the motions. It was all very transparent." Misato chuckled slightly, a smile that carried a mix of nervous humor and slight concern for her friend fought it's way to her features.

"You're too analytical, Ritsu-chan. You're going to scare all the men out of your life before you're thirty." It was Ritsuko's turn to laugh, as she closed her eyes, shaking her head somewhat as she placed the cigarette back into her mouth. "It's only natural. I'm going to be a scientist after all." Ristuko opened her eyes just slightly, enough to peer out of the window in front of her. "But, it doesn't take a scientist to see through him."

Misato sighed, but let the nervous chuckle remain, trying to remain as cheerful as possible despite the attitude of Ritsuko bringing her down. "Heh…what was his name again?"

#--

"Yoichi Satoru. Why I didn't recognize the name right away, I'll never know." Misato murmured, the cup of coffee resting between her fingers rippled as she sighed, shaking her head. Exasperated by her own forgetfulness, her attention snapped back to Satoru as he began speaking. He paused for a moment when he was handed a clipboard from Maya, sitting not far off. He scribbled on the papers as he continued. The break room was empty, save for the three adults, and the quiet hum of the vending machines nearby.

"Well, Katsuragi-chan, it has been a long time. A lot has changed over the years. Not only that, our contact back then was pretty limited, and Kaji-kun was almost always around, if I recall correctly, and your attention was focused solely on him." He paused for a moment when he was handed a clipboard from Maya, sitting not far off. Grumbling slightly, he scribbled on the papers as he continued with a knowing smirk. "It's not surprising that you didn't recognize me, after all, is it?"

Misato was slightly taken aback at his words, but their actual meaning - teasing in nature - slowly dawned on her, bringing a smile and a bit of laughter that caught her off guard, breaking her normal irritated attitude towards the man. "Ahem, excuse me." She shifted her weight onto one foot, taking a brief sip of her coffee before she spoke once more. "Anyway, I happen to remember you going on a double date with Ritsuko and I back then. I remember it now, I told Kaji-kun to find a date for Ritsuko or I wouldn't go."

Satoru stopped his writing, looking to Misato for a brief moment before tilting his head back and staring at the ceiling. He gave off a soft humming sound as he thought, before he snapped his fingers and returned his gaze to Misato. "Oh yeah…I recall that. I tried my best really, but Akagi-chan wasn't very receptive towards me."

Misato let out a slight laugh, turning her head to the side to stare at a vending machine, scanning over the contents, as Maya offered a brief smile and took the clipboard from Satoru as he finished, going over the information. "That sounds like Akagi-san, for sure. She was never really receptive towards any men as far as I know."

"Well, then, it looks like you're still a little hung up on her after all these years, eh, Satoru-san? Going out of your way to find her after her disappearance, how loyal you are." Misato spoke as she strode over to the vending machine, placing her money into the acceptor. Satoru, however, seemed less than amused. He stood up slowly and started towards the door, pausing for a moment to glance back at Misato, no trace of that earlier smile.

"If you're hinting at some kind of unrequited love, you're wrong. I don't feel anything for Dr. Akagi." He turned his back to Misato, opening the door slowly and staring out into the hallway, his tones dropping lower slightly. "I just know where she could be, and would rather she not be there." At that, Satoru took his leave, closing the door behind him. Maya watched him, silent until after he had been gone for a few moments. An awkward silence passed between the two women, the hum of the vending machine behind Misato the only sound in the room. The numbers of the money deposited flashed repeatedly, awaiting input from the woman, though she did nothing.

"Katsuragi-chan…Satoru-kun isn't after Akagi-san for his own sake. I asked him to find her for me." Misato looked up suddenly, hearing Maya speak. 'Of course,' Misato's inner dialogue began. 'she was always so attached to Ritsuko..' She shifted her stance slightly, feeling a bit of pity, as well as sympathy, for the young woman. "Maya-chan…"

"We may not talk anymore, but I still don't want anything bad happening to her. She did teach me all I needed to know." She looked down at the clip board held in her hands, studying what was written upon it meticulously. "When I heard she disappeared, I went to Satoru-kun and asked him to help me. He was very supportive and promised to do all he could." She smiled slightly now, looking up to Misato. "He's really not as abrasive as you seem to think, Katsuragi-chan. Just rough around the edges some times, and a little blunt."

Misato found herself slightly perturbed at Maya's words, a apprehensive expression making it's way to her features, forcing it's way to the surface and rendering her unable to hide her reaction. "Maya-chan…don't tell me you and Satoru-san…"

Maya's body twitched, visibly at her words, and her grip on the clipboard tightened. "What? Don't be ridiculous." She looked away now, attempting to hide her face away from Misato, though whether it was embarrassment or something wasn't known to Misato. "It's nothing like that. There couldn't be anything like that between us."

#--

Satoru sat silently within his office, elbows propped upon the desk before him and his fingers interlaced. His forehead rested upon the knuckles of his hands, eyes closed. His glasses rested upon the desk as his mind was lost in thought, the room completely dark and letting his thoughts run rampant. 'Unrequited love? I'm not capable of something like that.' He let his eyes drift open, scanning the empty desk for anything to hold his attention other than his thoughts. 'Why, then, do I wonder about those words? Unrequited love?' His gaze hardened slightly as he thought, grinding his teeth somewhat as a realization dawned upon him.

"No…unrequited has nothing to do with it…" The door to his office opened swiftly, drawing his attention upward to it rather than his desk, effectively pulling him away from his thoughts. "Sitting in here with the lights off all by yourself again, Satoru-kun?" A chuckle came from the young man as his hands fell to his sides. Leaning back in his chair, Satoru brushed hair back out of his eyes and addressed his friend.

"That doesn't concern you, does it Kaji-kun?" Kaji stopped at Satoru's desk and waited as the young commander activated the chair, giving Kaji a place to sit, though he instead sat directly on Satoru's desk. He continued now that Kaji had found himself a seat. "How did the budget conference go?" Kaji shrugged his shoulder and leaned onto his hand, setting a folder that had been under his arm onto the desk.

"They've approved a one-hundred-million yen budget increase for us. It isn't much, but it should be enough to show them we're worth more." Satoru grumbled as he picked up the file, opening it up so that he could read the contents within. "Tight-fisted bastards. They'll change their tune after the next time SEELE attacks, I'm sure." He read over the files briefly in silence, before setting them down once more. "At least it's enough to begin construction on Unit-0X's new system." Kaji's brow furrowed at Satoru's statement, standing up now.

"S.L.S. The Soul Link System…you're placing an awful lot of faith into something we don't even know is compatible yet. It'll create problems for the funding if you spend all of our money on this and it doesn't work." Satoru laughed aloud now, reaching for his sunglasses and placing them on. "The system relies on Dr. Akagi's data from the battle with Gaghiel. Maya-chan has also refined said data into a system we can use. I'm not worried about it - those two are the best at what they do, don't forget." Satoru stood as well, now, letting his explanation waver off.

"Well then, let's not talk about that for now. About those drinks you owe me." Kaji chuckled nervously as he was reminded of the drinks, nodding his head slightly. "Why don't we ask Misato and Ibuki-chan to come with is, Satoru? It'd be more fun with them around than if we just went ourselves." Satoru let the idea mull over in his mind for a moment as he walked towards the door, Kaji close behind.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. I didn't know Maya-chan drank, though. Doesn't seem like something she'd do." Kaji looked over to Satoru for a moment, as though he had missed the point of the invitations, but decided not to mention anything about it. "I'll catch you later, then, Satoru-kun." Satoru nodded as Kaji disappeared down the hall, then raised his arm to pull back his sleeve and look at the time. "Four forty-five. Fifteen minutes…"

#--

"The Soul Link System? You're finalizing my old plans it seems." Gendou murmured to the man behind him, turning the page of his newspaper as he often did when conversing with Satoru. Another meeting, more information traded and divulged. Satoru smirked at the older man's words, tilting his head back to look at the sky, finding himself without a newspaper today. "Don't try to take credit for this, old man. This isn't your work. This is owed to Dr. Akagi and Dr. Ibuki."

Gendou folded the newspaper into his lap and stared straight ahead, speaking the words he knew would hit a mark. "And Dr. Akagi's work is mine. After all, her work was done at my request, to win my favor." Satoru's brow twitched for a moment, and he looked straight ahead as well with a scowl. "You've no problem using people, do you?" Gendou remained silent, raising the younger man's ire to even greater heights. "Well, you won't be able to use this to your advantage. All the data is in my hands, this time."

"I don't need the data when I have it's creator in my hands." Satoru turned his body suddenly to stare with widened eyes at the older man's back, the shock turning to anger. "You…so that's what it is…using people never stops with you, does it Ikari?"

Gendou, unmoved by the comment, started to walk away from Satoru, pausing to shoot one last bullet at the younger man. "And what about you? It has it's uses, after all." Satoru glared at him, hating that calm demeanor he tried so desperately to imitate. The cold, detached feeling he got from the man belied the hostility shared between them. "Fine…I lost this one -" Satoru began as he stood, his hands finding their way into his pockets, running his thumb over a small diskette. "-but what are you planning, Ikari? Why did you give me this information?" No words were given in reply as a small black car came to a stop beside the two. Gendou turned and looked at Satoru - only a tense silence passing between the two. What was only seconds felt like hours, before Gendou simply entered the car door that was opened for him, leaving Satoru to stare at the ground as the car drove away.

"…damn him."

#--

"Drinks? I-I don't know." Maya began, recalling her only previous encounter with the man standing over her at this time. "That doesn't seem very appropriate for you to ask of me, anyway, why don't you ask Katsuragi-chan?" Kaji chuckled, placing an arm around Maya's shoulder and tilting his head to look at her eyes, watching her reactions.

"I already asked Katsuragi-chan. She's going to go with us. Why don't you come along too? We all need a break now and then, and you're included in that." Kaji took the clipboard from Maya's hand, looking it over despite her protests. His cheerful demeanor vanished as he read over the contents of the file. "The tests were already run? Is this readout right?" Maya pulled the clipboard from Kaji's hands and stepped away from the man, regaining her composure after a moment's time.

"Yes, but it's all theoretical data. We don't have and hard data on the compatibility, nor do we have any raw data on the pilots. We'll have to run a raw harmonics test with them soon." Kaji brought a hand up to his head, scratching his head as he thought of the problems that could arise from such a test. "I'm hoping this test will be run before we pair the pilots up."

Maya looked at Kaji with her eyes somewhat narrowed, though she knew why he would be concerned. "Of course - I'm not so foolish enough to put them in that kind of environment together. It's asking for trouble." Kaji chuckled slightly as she spoke, looking up at a nearby clock. "Well, we'll be meeting there in about an hour. Will you be joining us or are you going to stay here and be a workaholic?" Maya thought about going to the bar for a moment, having not been to a bar since college. 'It couldn't be that bad, could it?' She thought, before turning her attention back to Kaji. "Alright. I'll go. I guess I really do need a break from all of this work."

Kaji smiled and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Alright, then. I'll see you there - I've got to go get ready myself. Katsuragi-chan would kill me if I showed up in my work clothes." Maya smiled, glad for the levity in his voice as he started to leave. She looked down at the clipboard in her hands, then sighed, tucking it under her arm. "…but if I take a break, I'll never get done…"

#--

Misato stood within the apartment she shared with Shinji and Asuka, waving her hands as if it would tame the wild beast that was Asuka, who was having a tirade in front of her. "Why is it that you always go out with Kaji? It isn't fair, you know!"

"Now now, Asuka…the four of us have never really had time to sit down and catch up. Don't you think that's unfair, too?" Shinji, who had been listening nearby as he washed the dishes, stopped to turn around and look at Misato, smiling slightly. "I think it's nice that they're going to take time to talk. It'll help in the long run, Sohryu-chan." Asuka, more annoyed than pleased with Shinji's response, turned to face him with angry eyes.

"Oh, shut up Shinji! Quit rising to her defense! She's not the only one who wants to spend time with Kaji after all!" Misato flinched slightly at Asuka's words. She knew the young red-head wanted to see Kaji as well, it was no surprise given her previous attachment to the man. Though, it was no longer truly a 'previous' attachment now that Kaji had returned. An idea struck her for a moment, and she raised up a finger to point out a suggestion.

"Hey, I have an idea…why don't you two go out with Rei-chan and Yuu-kun? The three of you should get to know Yuu-kun a little better, you're going to be working with him from now on so it wouldn't hurt." Asuka huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm not going anywhere near the first child, but I guess I don't mind the idea of the Sixth. Still, something about him just pisses me off." She looked over to Shinji for a moment as the young boy began to speak. "What do you want to do, then, Sohryu-chan? Anything's better than staying here, right?" Asuka ground her teeth, then turned towards her room, her hair flowing about as she did so.

"I don't care…let's meet with the Sixth then…we'll see just what he's really like." Misato smiled at that, watching Asuka disappear into her room. Once she was out of earshot, she turned to Shinji with a slightly concerned expression, now, worried about the boy's mental state when dealing with the new child. "Are you going to be okay, Shinji-kun?"

Shinji returned Misato's stare, before returning to his chores, his back to the older woman now. "I don't know…if I do nothing, though, then that's all that will happen…nothing." Shinji paused his washing for a moment, his thoughts taking over. 'Though…I don't mind if that happens…But if I run away again…' He thought for a moment of his new commander, and his eyes narrowed slightly, feeling a growing anger in his stomach. 'Then I'll lose…' Meanwhile, Misato noticed Shinji's growing grip on the cup he was washing - both the cup and his arm starting to shake from the force of the grip. Stepping towards the boy, she placed her hand upon his shoulder, causing him to recoil slightly, inadvertently causing his glare and anger to focus on Misato.

"Shinji-kun…are you…what's wrong?" Shinji was brought back to reality by these words, looking to see the hurt expression on Misato's features. "Misato-san…I'm sorry." Misato's heart ached at the boy's earlier expression, feeling it had been directed towards her, and feeling the need to correct whatever it was she had said to upset the boy. "Shinji…if you don't want to go, you don't have to…Don't let what I said force you to-" Shinji cut Misato off, his gaze growing stony as he clenched the cup harder.

"Stop it, Misato-san! I'll do it…" He opened his eyes, only narrowly, staring into the soapy water in the sink. "It's the most convenient, after all…"

#--

"Shinji-kun…I think he's becoming just how he was when he first arrived at NERV." Misato began, watching the ice in her glass shift position, clinking against the sides of the glass. "Back to doing whatever he's told…"

"I don't know about that, Katsuragi-chan." Misato looked down the bar, her eyes stopping on Satoru, whose glass rested just shy of his lips as he spoke. "I had a chat with Shinji-kun before the first Synch Tests the other day…there was a bit of a fire in him…" He took a sip of the alcohol within the glass, before setting it down upon the bar, looking down to meet Misato's gaze. "Of course, calling him out on being a coward might have had something to do with it." Misato seemed shocked at what she had just heard, and was ready to stand up and fire back at him, but he continued before she had a chance, sensing her hostility from her expression. "I called him out because he needed a kick in the ass. At his age, issuing a challenge to him might spark a desire to not be proven wrong." He turned his attention once more to his drink, smiling. "And sometimes the physical changes in the body can overtake the mental aspect. I'm banking on that when it comes to Shinji-kun."

Misato narrowed her gaze at Satoru, which was better than what she had previously intended to do by a long shot. "You're a monster…you're putting his mental stability at risk doing things this way." She looked over her shoulder as Satoru countered her, looking for any sign of Kaji or Maya arriving. "Life is full of risks, Katsuragi-chan. If you live life without taking risks, it's no different than death." Misato said nothing to this, instead offering a change of subject, to avoid a fight.

"Asuka doesn't seem to be any diferent than she was after the battle with the mass-produced Evas…like she's back at the top of her game, but I can't help shaking that there's more to it than that. Like she's trying to hide how she really feels by lashing out at anyone who gets close again." Satoru shrugged his shoulders, sitting upright a bit more in his stool as he tilted his glass in a slow circle, watching the ice swirl within.

"I remember reading that she was hospitalized due to her mental state before hand…then she is suddenly back at her prime without so much as any indication why." He stopped tilting the glass to look to Misato once more, making sure he had her attention. "Are you concerned?"

Misato leaned towards him, placing a hand on the bar to keep her balance. "Of course I'm concerned! You can't blame me for that!" Satoru laughed once more, shaking his head yet again. "No, I'm not blaming you. In fact, I know where you're coming from." He waved a finger towards her as he set his drink back on the bar. "Don't forget…I've raised Yuu myself." Misato returned her eyes to the bar in front of her, her thoughts running rampant for a moment, before she spoke what was on her mind.

"The Sixth Child…Rokuro Yuu…just what is your relationship to him?" Satoru huffed for a moment, having hoped the conversation would have ended with that, but he should have known it was pointless. "I've raised Yuu for a long time now, ever since I first started working towards joining NERV." He noted Misato's curious glance about his words, and in truth the woman was pondering his reasons for joining NERV, but he spoke before she could voice them.

"That was after you and Dr. Akagi joined. I'd originally heard about it from Dr. Akagi, back when it was still Gehirn. I shouldn't have known, but she told me. Eventually, I abandoned my plans to be a musician to join NERV." Letting his head tilt back some, he closed his eyes. "Yeah…since then, he's been living with me for the most part. I was accepted as NERV's new commander after that last battle, and the rest is history." Turning his head, he opened his eyes to look at Misato, who had been listening intently despite having her eyes trained solely on her drink. Deciding it best to avoid further conversation on the matter due to the awkward silence that passed between the two, Misato changed the subject once more.

"I still can't believe we went to college together…Kaji-kun sure had some strange friends." Satoru's brow furrowed for a moment at her words, before he simply let his eyes look in her direction, rather than turning his whole head, his smile fading to a rather blank expression. "And you tried dating Ritsuko for a while too…I didn't even know she tried dating anyone in college except for the one date, and that didn't go so well according to her."

"Some things we can't help, and the past is one of them…" Satoru thought about the irony in his words for a moment, recalling a certain boy who had so easily been able to help the past, but decided now was not the time nor the place to think of those things. "Dr. Akagi may have turned me down, but perhaps it was for the best, given what became of her…" He took another drink, closing his eyes as he reminisced. "I'd much rather not have gotten involved."

"Talking about the past already, are we? That's not nice, leaving me out of it like that." The familiar voice came from behind the two, causing both to turn and smiled at their mutual friends. Kaji had arrived with Maya not far behind, Kaji catching Misato's attention more than Satoru, who was busy being lost in his own thoughts. Kaji took a seat to Misato's right, and Maya on Satoru's left. Satoru glanced towards Maya, who had decided to wear a simple light blue t-shirt and blue jeans, as opposed to Misato who was wearing her black dress - the usual she wore when out drinking. Seeing what Maya had brought with her, however, Satoru frowned slightly.

"I'm glad you came out, Maya-chan, but…" He pointed to the file she had set on the bar, glancing to her now. "Did you have to bring that with you?" Maya let out a nervous chuckle, leaning slightly on the bar now. "Well, if I didn't, I'd fall behind - you'd chew my ass off for it." Satoru stared at Maya in silence for a moment, and Maya returned his gaze, before the two share a chuckle, causing their friends to look towards the two of them. Misato was the first to comment, looking now to Kaji.

"They sure are friendly." Kaji laughed quietly and nodded, and it was Maya and Satoru's turn to look upon them, as they were now the topic of conversation. "Well, that's because they work together more than anyone else at NERV, myself included. It's only natural they'd be on such good terms." Maya interjected on the conversation, waving a hand as if to dismiss what Kaji had said.

"Oh please, don't let this fool you - he works me to death, dumping all the things he doesn't want to do on me." Satoru grumbled, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Hey, come on…it's not like I dump everything on you. There are just some things that you do better than me." Maya turned her attention back to her superior, raising a brow. "Oh, and is waking someone up on the list of things I do better than you? That's why you had me wake up Rei when I had dozens of other things to do? Things you ordered me to do, don't forget."

Satoru let out a nervous chuckle, then looked off to the side as everyone had a laugh at his expense. He wasn't hurt by their laughter, nor the fact that they continued their conversation without him. He was busy with his own thoughts and memories, his eyes resting on the empty stool to his right.

#--

"Really? Your mother is Akagi Naoko?" The question shocked a young Ritsuko, and she stopped walking to look at the man next to her. "You didn't know?" Ristuko knew her mother's name was quite well known, yet she had never met anyone who had failed to make the connection between her mother and herself save for Misato, and she didn't seem to care. Of course, now this man, Yoichi Satoru, had the same reaction.

"Nope…didn't know at all…" Ritsuko tugged at her white sleeveless, shrugging her shoulders and continuing their walk. "Unbelievable, Satoru-kun. You're as dense as they come." She glanced over to the blue-eyed male, smiling away and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "That's fine, isn't it?" Satoru turned his head to watch where he was going for a moment. "It's nice that your mother is famous and all, but I'm not interested in your mother." He set his eyes on Ritsuko once more, watching her reaction. "You're the one I'm interested in." Ritsuko glanced to Satoru for a moment, before looking ahead in silence.

_Dear Mother, I've met an…interesting type of man today. His name is Yoichi Satoru. He's a friend of Misato's boyfriend, you know the one I told you about? He's not as sloppy but he's just as frivolous as Kaji. Still, I thought he was transparent and fake, but the more I get to know him, the more confused I become. He's getting more and more hard to read._

"Hey, wanna go out to the bar tonight, Ritsuko-chan? Or did you want to work on your dissertation?" Satoru began, fiddling with his ponytail, but not daring to pull it out due to the heat. The pair sat at a lunch table, eating lunch together while a slew of papers were spread out before them. Ritsuko looked up from her meal to him, then sighed, nodding her head. "Alright, I guess it won't hurt to take a break for that much."

_I guess it's kind of selfish of me, but I've been seeing him a few days now strictly for my own scientific curiosity. I want to know more about him, but I don't want to get to know him better, if that makes any sense._

"That isn't fair, Ritsu-chan. You should be kinder to him, he's a good hearted guy." Misato pleaded, standing nearby the woman, both riding in an elevator taking them down from the top floor of the laboratory wing of the college. Ritsuko lit a cigarette, placing it between her lips as she spoke. "I'll admit he's…not bad." Taking a drag, she blew smoke up towards the ceiling, sighing slightly. "I guess I should give him more of a chance after all…"

_Dear Ritchan, it's nice that you're finally overcoming your shyness with men, despite it being what it is. Don't worry about the trivial details, so much, though. It's nice to have a man in your life - no matter what level that relationship might be._

Ritsuko set a paper upon the bar as she sat down, sliding it over towards Satoru. "Take a look at this, Sato-kun. My dissertation got a perfect score!" Satoru raised a brow as she slid the paper towards him, and he lifted it up to study the marks, or lack thereof, upon the paper. "You're not kidding…there isn't a single red mark in this entire paper." He smiled to her and set the paper back down on the bar, sliding it towards her. "I take it that's what made you so late? You were talking about your dissertation?" Satoru pulled a pair of cigarettes from his pocket, handing one to Ritsuko. She took the small gift, lighting it and placing her cat lighter on the bar for Satoru to take to light his own cigarette.

"Uh-huh, you're not going to believe it - They said that if kept it up, I'll get into Gehirn for sure!" Satoru smiled, waving his hands up and down. "Easy now, Ritsu-chan…you're not even supposed to be talking to me about that, remember?" Ritsuko stared at him for a moment, slightly put off by his words. "I am proud, and happy for you, though, Aka-nyan…"

_Dear Mother, I was told today that I would be able to get into Gehirn if I continued my work towards becoming a scientist at the pace I am. This is wonderful news to me, but I've noticed that I'm starting to become more attached to Satoru as a person rather than the object of my scientific observation. He called me Aka-nyan today, and it made me feel good…it's concerning - if I go to Gehirn I won't be able to see him anymore, so I don't want to get too attached. I think it's better off if I end it where it is. I wasn't able to find out who he really was, in the end. _

"I thought we were doing well…but you're really wanting to break up with me so easily?" Satoru queried painfully, watching Ritsuko look off to the side. "Don't say it like that…it's not like this was really that serious or anything…" Her eyes dropped somewhat, staring now at the ground as Satoru took a single step towards her. "Aka-nyan…" Ritsuko's head snapped towards Satoru, stepping away from him. "Don't call me that anymore, Yoichi-san."

#--

"Satoru-kun? Satoru-kun are you okay?" Maya raised a hand to his shoulder, shaking him slightly. Satoru turned his head slightly to Maya, raising a brow. "Hmm? What is it?" Maya looked down the bar towards Kaji and Misato, who were also staring at Satoru with somewhat concerned expressions, before returning her gaze to Satoru. "You just stopped talking and were sitting there staring at your drink for a while. Are you okay?" Satoru smiled nervously and nodded, waving her hand away. "Sorry about that. I guess I zoned out…maybe I am a bit overworked, too." He let his hand drift into his pocket to pull out a cigarette, placing it in his lips. He fumbled for a moment for his lighter, before pulling it from his pocket and looking down at it, his eyes widening for a moment before he sighed, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Kaji-kun…do you have a lighter?"

#--

Authors Notes: Yay! I 3 this chapter…more to come soon I hope!


	9. Trapped Forever in an Endless Midnight D

Author's Notes: Aww yeah. Lemme say I love this chapter. That's all. Go for it!

--

"All non-essential and non-combatant have been evacuated from sectors A-H, and the Evangelion have been safely launched into the bottom of the Ashinoko Lake, and the entire city has been fully cleared out, including the Children, thanks to Kaji-san. On top of that, changing the logic mode was successful, but it's not slowing the virus down any." Maya's voice was calm, despite the growing tension and anxiety of the situation. A situation that, for Maya and Misato, was all too familiar. "What are your orders, Commander? There's no physical body or location of this virus like last time, so we can't simply attack it with O-zone. Not as though that would work, anyway. It didn't last time."

"Dammit!" Satoru cursed his own stupidity, as well as the underhandedness of his adversary. "I can't believe I fell for such an obvious trick!" He paused as the frank tones of the older woman standing just over his shoulder shook him to his core.

"While I won't argue with the fact that it _was_ a stupid move to trust data that came from such a shady source, what's done is done." Misato began, taking a step towards the large screen that displayed the estimated time until the Magi systems agreed on a course of action around the self-destruction inquiry. "All that's left for _us_ to decide is what we're going to do about it now: Die, or stop this virus." Doubts ran in her mind about her new commander's capability to lead NERV into the new path of protecting Tokyo-3 from SEELE. Having trusted a data-chip that had arrived at NERV headquarters with no sign of where the package had originated immediately threw up red flags in her mind, yet Satoru seemed to see something valuable in the chip. And so…

"It's just a data-chip, Katsuragi-chan. How much harm do you think could come from it that we wouldn't be able to handle?" Satoru spoke, watching as Maya inserted the chip into the computer system, beginning to analyze it's contents. Maya hastily typed the commands into the console, Satoru watching over his shoulder with a mild enthusiasm. Perhaps this would go smoothly after all. Of course, this turned out to be wishful thinking as the screen displayed a variety of warnings and errors.

"It's a virus…" Maya stated, with an almost condescending certainty, as though she knew it all along. "It's a poorly assembled one, though, and there does appear to be some actual data that could be of use inside the chip. What do you want me to do, commander?" Maya glanced over her shoulder to Satoru, who simply smiled as he watched, folding his arms over his chest.

"Disinfect the files, deconstruct the virus, and identify the virus type. Don't quarantine it, just yet - I'm curious to see if there's any hidden signs of how this virus was constructed." Maya nodded briskly, and turned her attention to the computer, falling silent as Misato moved so she was beside Satoru, facing the man and folding her own arms across her waist, though she let them fall once more as she saw just how similar she was behaving to the man at her side.

"What good will that do? Shouldn't we just disinfect and quarantine the virus so we can contain it?" This drew a sigh from both Satoru and Maya's lips, though the it was the dark haired man who replied to her, somewhat exasperated.

"By deconstructing and examining the virus' contents, build structure, and if we can isolate the virus' program itself, the creator's footnotes within the code, we might be able to discern who made it. And if we know who made it -" He stopped as Misato cut him off, puffing out his cheeks a bit as his last few words were stolen from him.

"We can find out where it came from, right?" Satoru nodded, swiftly turning his attention to Maya as the woman spoke, placing one hand on the back of her chair, leaning forward to watch the screen.

"The virus has been stopped. I'm currently deconstructing it now, but so far it just looks like the base work of some rogue hacker. It's not very well constructed at all, and was very easy to stop." This elicited a slight chuckle from Satoru, who sat down on an empty portion of the computer terminals desk area.

Various data lines rolled past the screen, Maya studying them all without so much as a twitch in her eyes, Satoru simply staring at her for a brief moment, before the playful attitude returned, lifting a small cup of coffee nearby the young technician's keyboard. "Disappointed, Maya-chan? Maybe it's just your advanced computer skills that allowed you to swiftly defeat it, hm?"

Maya shook her head with, not out of embarrassment, but out of sincerity as she spoke, her eyes never leaving the screen. "No sir, this virus is of the caliber that I think even you could have stopped it." Satoru twitched, nearly choking on the coffee, bringing a hand to his mouth as he spoke.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Hm?" He set the coffee down as Maya's expression changed from one of focus, to one of near-panic. "What's going on?!" Klaxons and warnings went off as the large holographic screen in front of them displayed the warning that struck fear into both Maya and Misato.

"A second virus has been discovered! It's hacking into the main computer bank!" Satoru slid off of the desk, whirling around swiftly to face the screen once more. The lines of code and data flew past his eyes in a blur, and he could hardly keep up. He may not have had the speed required to keep up with the Magi systems, but he knew his way around the data and coding within them.

"The virus was designed to trigger when we deconstructed the dummy virus? Can't we just remove the data chip and eliminate the source of the virus?" He narrowed his eyes and bit his lip, mentally cursing both his own actions and the virus he was fighting. "No, that won't work…it's too deep into the system."

"Wait a second! I recognize this process…" Maya began as she analyzed the attack pattern of the new virus. "That's it! This is the same attack process as the Eleventh Angel!"

Misato ran to the opposite side of Maya, who was now beginning to feel a bit flustered due to the two closing in on both sides of her. Nevertheless, she diligently continued her work as Misato spoke. "Is it a copy of the Angel?!"

"Not possible." Satoru stated, firmly, standing upright as he looked to Maya. "It must be a virus designed to simulate the Angel's attack pattern." It was a brief moment of silence before a familiar smirk crept to his lips. "If that's the case, then…" Maya stopped her work, looking up to the man at her side with a knowing gaze.

"We'll just stop it the same way we did the Angel."

"We've tried changing the logic mode, like you suggested, but it didn't seem to buy us a lot of time." Satoru remarked, glancing over to Maya, who was busily crawling in and out of the Magi systems, pausing at a keyboard to type, and returning into the Magi systems again, carrying a few power tools for opening the brain case inside of the computer. "The only thing that's left now is to attempt to cause the virus to fall into a path that will lead it to self destruction, right?"

"That's right. I don't have a lot of time left, so I need to keep my head clear." She paused for a brief second to think, cursing herself as she did so - every second was valuable right now. "And I have to do it myself to…Dr. Akagi isn't around to help like last time…of course I was the one who was helping _her _then." Maya worked as quickly as she could, though the familiarity of her situation plagued her mind with memories…memories she'd long since forgotten. Satoru simply watched her work, feeling a deep sense of pity for the young woman.

"It seems…that you and I are to dance around that name forever, aren't we?" He began, reaching into his breast pocket to pull a cigarette from his pack, placing the slim between his lips and lighting it with a sigh. "I wonder if she'll ever let us go."

"I try not to think about it, sir. And right now, it's the last thing I need on my mind." Maya stated with a calm, almost obsessed focus. Doing the work of two people, after all, was taxing on the woman, physically, mentally, _and_ emotionally. Meanwhile, Satoru took a long drag from his cigarette, pausing as he recalled the event in which he acquired the data chip that had caused all of this.

'Damn him…' the young man's mind raced as he clenched a fist, the tension getting to him as well, though for an entirely different reason. 'No…I don't have any reason to be angry with him…this entire situation is my fault. The fault of my own stupidity.' He closed his eyes for a moment, blowing a plume of smoke from his lips.

"That isn't helping." The words left Maya's lips, almost sullenly as she worked on a nearby board, drawing Satoru's confused gaze towards her. "Put that cigarette out. It's not helping matters any. Plus, you can't smoke in here anyway. It could damage the internal components of the Magi." Satoru's brow twitched for a moment as she spoke, crushing the cigarette in his hand with a slight grumble. "Could you take a look at board 6 over there? I need you to block off a loophole that's present in the system from there."

Satoru gave a brief nod and carefully made his way past the strewn about boards, finding a seat on the floor as he picked up the board in question, typing away as quickly as his fingers would allow - which wasn't anywhere close to the speed Maya was moving. "According to the initial timetable you presented me, we're moving ahead at much faster pace than anticipated." He began, glancing briefly over to his comrade in arms in this fight against the virus. When she didn't respond, he returned his attention to the board in his hand, continuing on. "How much time do you think we'll have left?"

"It's difficult to say. We're moving along faster because I know the process this time around. We're nearly finished, so it's possible that we may stop the attack a full fifteen seconds before the allotted deadline." Maya stated, looking over to Satoru as she set the board in hand down. "Let me see that." She murmured, walking to his side and taking the board from his hands.

"Fifteen seconds sooner? But that's…" he paused, looking down at the watch on his wrist for a moment, seeming a bit shocked as he did so. "That's less than a minute from now!" As the words left his lips, the alarms began sounding once more as Balthasar was completely overtaken by the virus.

Misato, who had remained up on the command deck leaned over the railing to shout down to Satoru and Maya. "Balthasar's been taken over, we don't have much time! What's the status on the program?!"

"I'm nearly finished!" Maya shouted out, keeping her eyes on the board before her. "Satoru-kun, get ready! Just hit that key on board 21!"

Frantic, Satoru started looking around. "21? Where the hell did you put it!" He scrambled to find the board, finally locating it and taking it into his hands. At Maya's signal, both pressed their appropriate keys.

A long pause proceeded between all, every pair of eyes in the room glued to the screen displaying the status of the Magi system. The progress of the virus seemed to pause for as long as the room was silent -

And then it moved.

It moved faster than it had before, speeding through the Magi like nothing, much to the shock of the three officers present. Maya stood in shock, her eyes wide as they were glued to the screen. "Did I…mess up the program somewhere? How..?" Both Satoru and Misato stood in an equal state of shock, Satoru biting down on his bottom lip as he clenched a fist at his side.

'I…I've doomed us all…' He stood, eyes screwed shut as the counter wound down. Five seconds…now four. 'It can't end like this…I've still got my role…' Three seconds left, down to two…one, and finally -

The status of the Magi system showed that all three had been completely taken over by the virus, and yet, the self destruct sequence was still aborted. The announcement of that fact cause all to look at the screen once more as it changed from the Magi system status to a large message, seemingly from the attacker.

"Check mate." Beneath this condescending message was an addition, yet it wasn't the message that struck the onlookers - it was the signature. "You're still too slow to handle your new role, Satoru-kun." It was signed, by one Akagi Ritsuko.

"Ritsuko-chan…?" Satoru stammered the name out, before his fists clenched tighter and he hung his head, Maya looking first up to the screen, then to Satoru, Misato following suit after she read that the message was directed to Satoru - the fact that the Magi system was released from the virus no longer playing in their mind.

"God damn you!" Satoru screamed, kicking a nearby board, watching the fragile piece of equipment smash against a nearby desk, causing Maya to flinch. "All of that was just a joke to you? Do you think this is funny!?" He turned to the desk, setting his hands upon it, balling them into fists as he screamed once more. "Don't screw with me!!" Maya looked towards the rampaging man as he slumped down against the desk, placing his forehead on the edge as he broke down, seething and panting from his outburst.

"Satoru-kun…"

Life returned to the city of Tokyo-3, it's citizens arriving from their forced exile. The attempt to stop the virus from destroying the city was labeled a success, but not to those who were directly responsible for stopping it. Each one of them viewed it as a failure on their part.

"It's been three days, hasn't it? And we've seen hide nor hair of him." Kaji began, cradling the phone on his shoulder. "Honestly, he needs to learn that he has a responsibility as the new commander of NERV."

"It's that very responsibility that's keeping him from coming in, Kaji. I'm sure he must feel like he can't lead after that blunder, and to be honest he's right. How can someone who is supposed to have the ability to lead the only line of defense against SEELE let something like that happen? It's ridiculous!" The words came from deep loathing for the man Misato now had to call her commander. For once, she found herself _wishing_ for the in control attitude of Ikari Gendou.

"But don't you think it was worth it, Katsuragi-chan? After all, there was indeed valuable data within that chip." Kaji countered, causing Misato to shift in the tub, looking at her own reflection in the water for a moment.

"You mean the data on the S.L.S, as well as the needed technical data to get it fully up and running? I suppose…but…" She closed her eyes, sighing as she replayed the entire event in her mind. "I wonder, if Ritsuko-chan wanted to give us that information, why make us go through that? Why not just come back to us and help us instead of putting the entire city at risk like that?"

"You know that Ritsuko-chan is captive at SEELE, it's possible she was forced to design that virus for them. After all, she's the only one who would have known how to counter that self-destruction program." Kaji shifted his position on the desk in Satoru's main office, changing the phone from one hand to the other as he sat in the darkness. "Perhaps she made a few modifications to the program so that we wouldn't be destroyed…instead, we would be prepared for something like this in the future."

It was a pleasant lie, to Misato. "I hope you're right about that…" A long pause drifted between the two, the only sound accompanying them was the dripping water from the leaking faucet, the repeated sound of the water droplets splashing almost hypnotic.

"Speaking of SEELE…you heard the news, didn't you Katsuragi-chan?" Kaji began, taking the silence Misato gave him as evidence to the contrary. "About Chairman Keel…it seems he met a most unfortunate end this past weekend."

"You mean the leader of SEELE is dead?!" Misato sat upright in the tub, quickly, splashing water out onto the floor below. "I don't believe this, h-how did it -"

"Not just him - the entire busy-body of the committee. It seems that it wasn't an accident, either. It was evident that Keel in particular was tortured, and a few of the other council members, who were also high ranking officials for various countries who were closely affiliated with the Marduk Institute, simply turned up missing. I wonder who could have possibly had the pull to do such a thing?" As Kaji finished speaking, only one name crept to his mind, though he already had the knowledge behind the entire situation at his disposal.

"If the heads of SEELE are gone…who's keeping Ritsuko-chan as a hostage?" Misato questioned Kaji, feeling positive that he knew the answer, though she was equally positive she wouldn't get the answer she sought, falling silent rather than protesting.

Skillfully avoiding the awkward silence passing between the two, Kaji spoke once more, a slightly playful tone back to his voice. "Well, you said that the children had something planned today, didn't you? Where were they going?"

"Oh, it's the summer festival at their school. They're going to take a look. It'll be a nice break for them…I'm sure they could use the relief from all the tension."

"No, you're doing it wrong! Like this, you have to bend your wrist more!" Asuka shouted to the less than enthusiastic Shinji. The young, chestnut haired boy was attempting to knock down milk-bottles with a baseball, in vain.

"I'm trying! It's not that easy you know!" The poor boy countered, causing Asuka, on a tirade, to attempt to wrestle the ball from his hands. Yuu and Rei stood behind the arguing pair, a smile on the former's lips as he watched, chuckling softly as the spectacle unfolded before him.

"It's kind of funny, don't you think, Ayanami-chan?" Yuu queried, looking over to the young girl at his side. Rei stared at him for a moment, looking ahead to Shinji and Asuka once more.

"I do not see the humor in this." Yuu sighed, placing a hand from his pocket to the back of his head, before looking towards the two.

"It's…kind of hard to explain. They're fighting, sure…but they aren't really fighting." The ebony haired boy began, placing his hands back into his pockets. "Though it doesn't look like it, they're trying to help each other. They just don't know how to do it any other way. It's…not all that uncommon really. Plenty of people do it." His explanation was interrupted at the sound of clanking bottles, eliciting cries of victory - from both Asuka _and_ Shinji.

"There, you see? That's how you do it, right there." Asuka gloated, though Shinji turned to face her, pointing towards the rack the bottles had previously been stacked upon.

"No way! It was my ball that knocked them over, not yours!" Yet another argument began to form between the two, when the vendor finally interrupted, waving his hands nervously.

"Hey, you two…that's against the rules, you can't do that…only one person can throw a ball at a time, you know." Both Shinji and Asuka let out a loud 'what?' at the revelation, frustrated that they would get nothing for their efforts. Yuu stepped forward, between the two for a moment, raising his hands to silence the pair so that he could finally get a word in.

"Why don't we have a little contest, then? We'll all go around to each stand and play the games there. Whoever wins the most games will be the winner in the end." He paused to look over to Shinji, raising a brow as he bashfully checked his logic. "I mean…that _is_ what everyone does at this sort of thing, right?"

Shinji loathed the idea of a contest, particularly because it would only spark more of a fight between everyone, not just himself and Asuka, and Asuka herself was excited at the chance to show off her skill in all the various games, as well as best Shinji in any way possible. "Well…I don't know if that's…" His own memory interrupted him, pulling him away from reality into his mind for a moment. 'Are you still running away?' His fists closed for a moment, before he nodded, determined, to Yuu. "Right, let's do this then."

Asuka clapped her hands together, a smirk creeping to her features. She brushed her red hair in an arrogant motion as she spoke, looking to Shinji. "That a boy, Shinji…now we'll prove without a doubt who's the best."

Yuu smiled at their acceptance, glad for once he was able to contribute something of worth as he looked over to Rei. "You're going to join in on this too, aren't you? It's not going to be as fun if everyone isn't involved."

Rei paused for a moment, looking towards the trio of her fellow pilots, all staring at her as they waited for a response. "If I must." Yuu grinned widely as he placed his hands on his hips, though he quickly found himself being drug away, along with Shinji, by Asuka.

"Alright, come on, then. Let's see what you've got, Sixth Child!" Asuka drug them all throughout the school. Apple bobbing…goldfish catching…the dreaded milk-bottle stand, everywhere. Naturally, the red-headed young girl showed her promise in just about every game, leading ahead of the others. The group finally decided to take a break and check their scores, taking a seat next to the final game board. Yuu panted from having to chase down the over-excited girl once he'd finally been freed from her grasp, instantly realizing that being drug along by her was actually LESS tiring than trying to keep up on his own.

"What's the score, Soryu-san?" The third child queried, sitting on a bench next to his fiery companion, who was busily reading over the scorecard she had been tracking. With a triumphant grin, she stretched her arms above her head, purposefully accenting her chest to the boy to her left as she spoke.

"Naturally, I'm on top. You're just not good enough, Shinji." She paused to look over to Yuu, who sat on the floor against the bench, his eyes closed as he rested for the time being. "And you…you need to kick it up a bit. You're in last place, even wonder girl is beating you."

Yuu opened his eyes and looked over to Rei for a moment, the quiet girl looking over the next stand. 'Is she taking this seriously?' He slowly stood up, rubbing his neck as he went to examine the game as well, attempting to learn how it was played. 'Who am I kidding…she must take _everything _seriously.' With his inner monologue completed, he turned his attention towards the game once more.

A large wall of balloons stared him in the face, two different colors. Red, and blue, though the real trick was that there were more red than blue - the red balloons spelled out the kanji for 'Lucky Shot', and the blue only filled in the kanji. "Lucky…shot?" Shinji stated, tilting his head for a moment as he examined the wall, coming up behind Yuu and Rei. "How do we play?" The young man asked the vendor, handing over the tickets he'd purchased earlier to use to play the games.

"Take a dart and throw it towards the board. If you hit a red balloon, you lose. If you hit any of the blue balloons inside of the red balloons, you win." Shinji and Yuu both seemed disheartened at this revelation, doubting their skills in such and endeavor. From behind them, however, a hearty laugh erupted from Asuka, who paid her ticket and retrieved her dart, despite the fact that Shinji was actually already playing.

"I'll show you how it out to be done. Like…" Asuka lined up her hand and her dart, steadying her aim with careful precision, the same effort she put into everything she did, before rearing back and throwing the dart towards the balloons. "…this!" The dart soared through the air and struck home, popping a blue balloon. With a smug sense of self-satisfaction that only Asuka could portray, she placed her hands on her hips and turned her nose up from the game, laughing.

"Ha! Just like that. Score another point for me. And with that, my victory is assured!" Shinji looked at his own scorecard, making adjustments for Asuka's score that he'd been keeping seeing that indeed the girl told the truth. With the scores as they were, the only way he could even tie was to score two points.

"Wow, you're right, Soryu-san. Looks like you won this one, huh?" Shinji's tones were reserved, resigned to the fact that he had been soundly defeated, though he turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand belonged to Yuu, who smiled to the young man for a moment, before removing his hand from Shinji's shoulder.

"Don't forget, Ikari-kun, we still have to play for second, third, and last place. As the scores stand, you and Ayanami-chan are tied." Shinji looked down at his scorecard, noting the marks before turning his attention to Rei, who was simply waiting her turn, silently, crimson orbs scanning over the game board. Sliding his card back into his pocket, Shinji took the dart in his hand and examined it for a moment, before looking up to the board with determination in his eyes.

"I can do it." He murmured quietly to himself, lining up the dart with the balloons on the board. 'I have to get two points, though…how could I possibly do that?' He scanned the board, looking for some way he could win. 'Wait…there!' The young boy spotted a point where two balloons were relatively close together, took aim and…

Pop

His dart struck true, only on a single balloon as opposed to one. His heart sank for the briefest of moments until the dart fell from the board, spiraling downward and popping a second balloon before clattering against the floor. Even the vendor stood in surprise, mirroring the expression shared by Asuka and Yuu. Immediately, as if to defend her spot as undisputed champion, Asuka balled her hands into fists and shouted, waving her arms as if for dramatic effect.

"N-no way! That doesn't count, the dart didn't stick into the board!" Shinji looked to Asuka for a moment, somewhat put off as the girl could not accept the simple fact that he had popped two balloons when she could only pop one.

"The rules didn't say that the dart had to stick into the board, right sir?" Shinji asked as he looked to the vendor, who scratched his cheek in idle thought.

"Well…that's true…" Clearly the man didn't want to get involved in the dispute; it was only the timely intervention of Yuu that saved the pair from a brutal argument that was about to overflow between them.

"He has a point, Soryu-chan. He _did_ pop two balloons after all. That means he gets two points." Asuka huffed, planting herself firmly on a nearby bench as she folded her arms over her chest, looking off to the side sullenly.

"Oh, fine! Take your measly two points, Shinji." Shinji stared at Asuka for a moment, surprised that the girl had backed down, turning his head to look at Yuu over his shoulder.

The older boy simply stared at Asuka for a brief moment, before smiling to Shinji as he turned to pay for his dart. "See, Ikari-kun? It's not so bad after all."

Shinji simply stared at him, slightly confused. "What's not so bad?" He queried, watching as Yuu lined up his dart with one balloon then, as if he couldn't decide, a different balloon, repeating this motion a few times.

"You don't understand? Well…I can't really explain it to you, can I?" Yuu stopped aiming for a moment to look over his shoulder to the puzzled Shinji, brushing a strand of stray hair from his eyes. "You'll have to figure out what I mean on your own." Yuu turned his attention back towards the board, aiming carefully in silence, leaving Shinji to stare at his back for the time being.

'He's just like…' His memory raced as he watched, recalling his confrontation with a certain man not too long ago.

'Even if I had the answers, I wouldn't tell you…' The voice rang clear in Shinji's mind, causing him to cast his gaze downward for a brief moment. '…Yoichi-san.' His attention was diverted once again as he heard a soft 'plunk' noise, and a defeated groan from Yuu.

"Ooh, lady luck just doesn't smile on you, kid." The vendor stated; Yuu sighed as he looked away from the board, hanging his head in defeat and mock depression.

"Yeah…I know." It seemed that the young man's aim was poor, as he had thrown the dart, perfectly missing any of the balloons, be they red or blue. Shinji chuckled nervously at his friends poor luck, Asuka merely laughing behind them and mocking the poor boy. In the midst of their antics, a loud popping noise emitted from the board, causing all of them to look towards the source of the sound. A dart was lodged squarely in the previous location of a red balloon, too perfectly to have been a mistake. Asuka's brow raised curiously, as did Shinji's. Yuu simply stared for a moment, before looking to the one who had thrown the dart.

"…Ayanami-chan…you know you're supposed to hit the blue balloons, right?" Rei stood upright, letting her arm fall to her side as she did so, looking at the ground for a moment with a silent nod. "Then…what happened?"

"I hate the color red." At those words, Asuka huffed, feeling as though not only her hair was being mocked, but her beautiful Unit-02 was being insulted. She decided not to press the matter, however, simply standing up and turning to head down the hall, grabbing Shinji's wrist and dragging him along.

"Come on, Shinji! Let's go - Wondergirl here isn't being very sporting, is she? Besides, it's getting late." Part of Shinji wanted to comment on the fact that it was Asuka, not Rei, who was being unsporting, but the sane part of him chose not to, thankfully. Yuu stood silent for the time being, staring at Rei for the longest time as a group of students passed by them, laughing and chatting rather loudly. Cicada's cried outside of the window, and the balloon game vendor started replacing the popped balloons and removing the darts from the board. Rei turned to meet Yuu's gaze, snapping the young boy from his trance.

"…and why do you hate the color red…" Yuu asked, though it wasn't a simply question. His words carried the tone that he too disliked the color, and simply sought to gain understanding in why someone else would dislike the color as well.

Rei stared at him for a time, before looking towards the window. Yuu followed her gaze for just a moment, curious to what she might have been staring at, unaware that the young girl's gaze traveled no farther than the window itself. "…because it is the color of blood." This response caused Yuu's eyes to widen a bit, averting his gaze from Rei down to his arm, staring at the faint remnants of the cut that was previously upon his arm. He let his arm fall to the side, though he didn't return his gaze to Rei, his own mind taking over and flooding him with thoughts, thoughts that he had to shake his head to free himself from.

"…sea of life…" He murmured to himself, though this caught the attention of Rei, the blue haired girl briskly turning to face him, surprise brought to her features though it faded within moments. She turned her head away from Yuu as he gritted his teeth, staring at the floor. Though she tried not to look at the boy, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander to his pained gaze.

'Who are you?' She queried in her mind, looking towards her reflection in the window once again. 'Why are we here? For what purpose?' Outside, she spotted a familiar face - a certain young doctor, walking past the school with an individual she couldn't place her finger on. 'Dr. Ibuki?'

"Recover process complete. The Magi system is operating at 100 capacity once again." Maya sighed as the busy work was done, leaning back in her seat as she finished restoration to the damaged parts of the Magi system. She brought a hand up to her eye, wiping away the tears that had formed as she yawned, trying to keep herself from falling asleep as she did so. It was only the sudden outburst of the telephone that caused her to snap from her sleepy haze. She frantically looked around for the device, her desk a mess of paperwork, finally finding the ringing phone and lifting it to her ear.

"Dr. Ibuki speaking." She took in a sharp breath as the voice spoke on the other end of the line, lifting her head slightly as she heard the familiar tones. "It's you..!" A brief pause, before she sighed, relaxing slightly. "I need to see you. Where can we meet safely?" Maya spoke in hushed tones, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was going to walk in on her. "Alright. I'll be there right away." With that, she hung up the phone, staring at it for a long moment, her eyes softening on the device.

Gathering her things, she turned to the door of her office, getting a few inches from the door as she prepared to open it when the door suddenly opened before she got the chance, startling her. "V-Vice Commander…" She stammered, Kaji standing before her with a somewhat confused look on his face, surprised to see Maya in such a rush.

"Ah, Ibuki-chan. I just came by to see how the progress was going on the Magi." Ibuki took a step back for a moment, looking to her paperwork.

"Oh, well…it's finished…just now in fact. E-excuse me, sir. I have to go meet someone, it's very important." She slipped passed the man, looking over her shoulder as he stepped out of the room to watch her disappear down the hallway.

'Meet someone? Could it be Ritsuko?!'

Smoke drifted through the air of the dimly lit room, a slight white glow emitting from a television broadcasting nothing but snow. An alarm clock flashed midnight in a red, seven-segment display of numbers. Beside it, an ashtray with a still lit cigarette captured between it's ridges. Slowly, a hand reached towards the white poison, though it was soon restrained by another, more slender hand, gently clasping and intertwining the fingers of the larger hand.

"Put it out, Satoru-kun…" The soft, tired female voice murmured, though her hand was brushed away with ease as Satoru retrieved the cigarette, bringing it to his lips.

"Knock it off…" He muttered, somewhat indignantly, taking a slow drag and exhaling the smoke far above the bed, away from the young black-haired woman whose head lay on his chest. His eyes remained closed, recalling for a moment the memory of three days past, the message left for him from a certain doctor.

'You're still too slow to handle your new role, Satoru-kun.' The young man gritted his teeth, clenching his fist tight around the cigarette, crushing the filter-end. The woman eased herself off of his chest to look at him, staring at his expression with somewhat saddened, somewhat offended eyes.

"You're always like this after we have sex, Satoru-kun." Easing her self away from the man, she placed her figure beside his own, black locks falling before her eyes as her expression changed now to solely offended. "Are you that tired of me?"

Satoru scoffed, turning his head away, only to hide his now softening expression as his eyes drifted partially open. "It isn't that, Maya-chan." Returning his gaze to her for only a moment, he placed the cigarette onto the ashtray once more, propping himself up on the headrest slightly. "What Ritsuko said is just pissing me off." Maya watched as he opened his eyes fully, staring at his hands for a moment. He let his hands drift to her hair, his fingers running through it lightly. "Why'd you dye your hair black…tch." Noting the look in Maya's eye, one that spoke what didn't need to be said - 'You aren't changing the subject.' - He let a sigh escape and continued his earlier statement.

"It pisses me off because she's exactly right. I'm…I'm a failure. I can't handle being the commander of NERV. I'm just a fake…" He brought his hands from her hair to his own for a moment, smoothing it out behind his ears, letting his hands rest on the back of his neck. "Fake…it's no wonder Ayanami-chan reacts how she does to me."

Maya resisted the urge to bite her lip for a moment. Satoru was slipping, and with it, her own mood. Her mind told her to do something, to keep him from falling so that she might be able to stand. "Don't…believe her, Satoru-kun. Dr. Akagi doesn't know -" Satoru violently shook his head, his efforts to smooth out his hair far gone now, as it hung all about his head, hiding his face from the world.

"Don't humor me, Maya! I don't want your pity, damn you, I just-" It was Maya's turn to interrupt, shifting her position once more to sit herself in Satoru's lap, placing her hands on the side of his head and forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"What I was trying to say…was that Ritsuko-chan doesn't know you like I do. Like Shinji-kun does, or Yuu-kun…You've inspired Shinji-kun, and you're always there to support Yuu-kun."

Satoru's gaze, forced upon her, remained there for time being, before he spoke again. "And just what do I do for you? Love?" He scoffed for a brief moment, his words biting deep into Maya.

"No, but I don't expect it from you - that's not what this is." Satoru's eyes twitched for a moment, before he attempted to close them or look away, earning his head a brief squeeze from the woman upon his lap.

"Don't you look away from me! You can't hide behind those glasses of yours forever, Satoru." Her hands gently slid from his head to his neck and shoulders, her touch lighter now. "You can't hide yourself from the world just because you don't believe in yourself as a human being. If everyone fully believed in themselves as human beings, as people - there'd be no suffering. Utopia. All you have to do is hold onto the faith you have in yourself…if you can't do that, than hold on to the faith other people place in you." She tilted her head slightly, staring at him a bit more sympathetically now. "You can do that much, can't you?"

Satoru let her words rest in his mind for a moment, finally letting his eyes drift away from Maya, not as an escape, but because his sight would be a distraction from his thoughts. "Utopia…faith…" After a time, his smirk returned to his face, and he looked straight ahead, beyond Maya to the snow on the television. "Shinji-kun…I think I understand the role you've given me a little better now."

_--_

Author's Notes: Haha…bet you didn't see that one comin', eh? To be honest…I had that planned before I even started the fic…dunno what drew me to it, but I feel I can take it in a direction that will be…awesome XD.


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